Listen to the Rain
by Akheilos and Delphin Inc
Summary: One year, fifty days, three hours and thirty seven minutes since I have last talked. The story of a mute demi-god with a mystery to solve. And a threat to deal with. Add in a secret war and you've got his life. Please read and review!
1. Cornfield

**My story Rise of the Dreamcatchers is discontinued. ****I lost interest and no one was reviewing, so yeah. I also had no clue where it was going. This story on the other hand, I have completely laid out. I even know the approximate number of chapters (12). What can I say? Maple syrup is good. On with the show :)**

**I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS RICK RIORDAN DOES!**

**I. Cornfield**

One year, fifty days, three hours and thirty seven minutes. Since I have last spoken. Since I have opened my mouth and let the words flow. I haven't opened my mouth since, except to eat. Not to yawn or lick my lips. Not to shout or yell or laugh. Not to smile. Always just pulling my mouth back into a crooked half smile. Not that anyone cares for the small eleven year old in the corner.

I sit in the middle of a cornfield somewhere in some state. Chiron lets me out here in the day, but when the sun begins to set, he comes and gets me. I think it belongs to Demeter. She's always been my favourite goddess because she was the only one who cared. She fed me. I wish she were my mother. But no, I have to have that immortal jerk as a dad. He calls himself a king, but he travels around looking like a caveman. King Lycaon. Yeah, the wolf dude. That's my dad. I look down at the small piece of straw in my hands, closely examining it. It has the rough texture that only looks rough but isn't. It's kind of hard to explain.

I look up and over the vast field of corn. In the distance I can see Demeter bending down and picking up several stocks (?) of corn. She stands up, wiping her brow and looking into the sunset. I turn and see Chiron's figure illuminated against the setting sun. Apollo really does seem to be in a good mood today because it is sweltering hot. I get up, brush he dust off my pants and start walking towards Chiron.

When I get to him, Demeter is already there, talking to him and gesticulating madly with her free hand towards the sun. "I mean, he has no appreciation for agriculture or cereal. If he keeps going on like this, my corn is going to burn. And when it does, I will go to my brother dearest and tell him to find a way to kill that wretched sun god. Seriously, Helios was so much more responsible that he ever has been or ever will be," she rants. "Hey Seth. Find anything?" She asks, smiling down at me. I nod, holding out the piece of straw. She takes it and holds it in the light. Then she smiles and sticks it behind her ear. It transforms into a miniature piece of corn.

"Well, Lady Demeter, I'm afraid I must be taking Seth back to camp now. Thank you for letting him stay here the day. It's doing him much good. He's even smiling," Chiron says. I blink and look away. I know what he's thinking. There's some kind of secret war going on he's not telling me about. He's sending me here because I'd be in the way and because the bastard Percy Jackson asked him to. Demeter told me this a while ago. And he's doing it a little bit because it makes me happy. But he'd never admit it.

Chiron takes me by the underarms and places me on his back. Demeter smiles and gives me a small wave before disappearing into a cloud of dust. Then Chiron turns and starts galloping to the west, towards the setting sun.

We arrive at camp in about half an hour. Chiron is silent the whole time, but I can tell by the way he's moving that he's tense. He wants to tell me something. I look around at the blurry landscapes that we pass and I try to imagine how it would be, living out here. Always being able to go into a cornfield, not having anyone shout at you to speak to them all day long. Yeah, that'd be nice. Only problem is, and let's face it, even though I'm a good thief and liar, I couldn't survive on my own as a runaway. I still need at least two good meals a day to get by.

Chiron lets me off in front of the big house and then trots over to the Poseidon cabin, probably to consult Percy again. I think there's been some kind of prophesy. Of course Percy Jackson would be the one to get it. I'll admit it; I am jealous of him. But seriously, who wouldn't be? He is the saviour of Olympus, a chivalrous one as well, he's the son of Poseidon, he has an extremely beautiful girlfriend and he gets about seven hundred prophesies a day. And he's Chiron's favourite. And Poseidon's. And let's throw in Artemis, for good measure.

I turn my back and walk into the Big House, where Dionysus is playing Pinochle with two terrified looking satyrs while a third, one who looks like he has more dignity, Grover, stands behind him, talking quietly and quickly. I brush past them, not giving them a second glance, and head down the corridor, up the stairs, to the end of the hall and up a ladder to where my room is. It's a small room that is in the attic but away from the trophy room. My father had sent a note that he didn't want a cabin at camp. At least, that was all Chiron read to me. I stole the letter that night and took it up to my room. There I read that I was a mistake and the Lycaon didn't want a cabin in his honour. He said it was best to kill me right away because I was a thief and a liar and I would only cause trouble. I cried myself to sleep that night.

I push open the door and enter the small room. Hung between two walls and in front o the window is the hammock that I sleep in, with a nice warm blanket on top. The slanted walls are covered in pictures of wolves and the moon. Small knives stick in the walls and around my scoreboard, but none have ever hit bull's-eye. I pick up a knife that is lying on a box next to me and throw. I spirals and hits the wall next to the board. There really is nothing else in the room than boxes; things I have collected over the years of living here. Of course, there are also several newer appliances and mortal candy stashed in them; things that I steal whenever Demeter takes me on a shopping trip. But my most prized possession hangs over my window. It is a dream catcher.

Its frame is bound in chocolaty brown leather and the web is a silvery white. Little wooden pearls are attached everywhere, and feathers hang from the bottom and the sides. Saqui, a Native American woman, made it for me at some point. I think that was when I was hanging in a tree, starving, having run away from home. She found me and nursed me back to health in her little village, but the monsters started sensing me and the wolf population seemed to grow in the area. People looked at me as a demon, but Saqui knew. She herself was a daughter of Hades and she knew a demi god when she saw one. She called Chiron to take me away, and on the last night, right before I went to sleep, she gave me the dream catcher. She said is masked my scent and made monsters think I was a wolf, not that I didn't smell like them anyways. That was the last time I really laughed.

I walk over to a big box in the far right corner. I pull out a long sleeved shirt, a t shirt and some pants. I grab my towel from the side of an office chair (I really have no clue how it got in here) and exit the room. I go down the ladder and turn into the first door on the right. Shower. Afterwards I look at my reflection in the mirror.

Since Chiron forced me back to camp after… never mind, I've started going by my own schedule. I eat something small in the mornings and in the evenings. I snack in between. Demeter says it isn't healthy but I don't care. I'm small and not muscular or any of that stuff. Just plain skinny. I look at my arms. There are multiple long red scratches on them; grass cuts. Tomorrow I'll wear a long sleeved shirt. Speaking of which, I put mine on. Over that, I pulled on the t shirt. I put on the dark jeans that I've had for a few years. Looks like I'll always be a midget. Then I look into my face, something I detest doing. It's the face of so many things.

My hair that's actually dark brown looks almost yellow in the unnatural light of the bathroom. My eyes lock with the ones peering at me from the mirror. Yellow- grey with a rim of blue. A wolf's eyes. I open my mouth ever so slightly but it's enough. Enough to see the teeth that are more pointy than a normal mortal's. I growl at the mirror, ready to punch it.

I pt my towel in my room again but then I head downstairs. I'm just in time for the bonfire. I sit on an untaken log and stare at the flames, letting them warm my face and hands. On the other side of the fire I see Annabeth in Percy's arms, Juniper leaning on Grover's shoulder and Nico talking to a ghost, earning a disapproving glare from Chiron. Several Aphrodite girls are giggling and pointing at some of the Apollo singers, while their brothers are busy checking out any girl that comes in sight.

I turn my attention back to the flames. And then I feel self pity. No one notices me. No one cares. I know it'd be different if I talked, but I won't. Never. I nudge a son of Iris who's sitting next to me and point to the pizza in front of him. He holds out his hand. I rummage my pockets for a drachma, but I only find a lump of gold I stole from the forge earlier. I hold it out but he shakes his head. Damn. Looks like I'll have to life off candy again tonight. Poor me. Take note of the sarcasm.

I look back into the flames that are burning high and red right now. People are all singing along with the Apollo kids and having a good time. But nothing could prepare me for what I see in the fire: a head. A wolf's head, but still a head. It looks at me and blinks. Then it talks in my head. _Be brave. I'm waiting. _I look around and when I look back, it's gone.

**What do you think? Should I continue? I will, no doubt, but still. Any questions, comments? Constructive criticism? Review!**


	2. Change

**II. Change**

I wake up before the sun is up. I stay in bed, watching the moon crawl across the sky. It is cold in my room and I snuggle deeper into my covers. Then I do something rare and extremely dangerous: I think. Yep, I actually think. I think about how I draw energy from the moon. I think about how, when I am in the company of a wolf, I can hear people's thoughts. I think about how comfy I am right here. Then my thoughts wander off, and I find myself thinking about camp and the heroes of Olympus.

Percy Jackson, who has always laughed at me because I am not good at anything except for running, lying, stealing and pankration. Annabeth Chase, who has desperately tried to get me to talk over the last few years. She is frustrated with me because even though I can read, I cannot write. Nico di Angelo, the only demi-god who understands me. He often talks to me about his problems and stuff because all I do is listen. He says the ghosts are also good listeners, but halfway through a conversation, they'll get distracted by a Frisbee, something that wasn't around when they were alive.

I shake my head to clear the thoughts. I get up, pull on my clothes from yesterday, and head downstairs. I stop right before I'm about to set foot on the third-to-last stair and sink down into a crouch because I hear voices. I recognize most of them. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse La Rue, Connor and Travis Stoll, Katie Gardner and many more. Above the tumult, I hear Chiron's booming voice. "Everyone, settle down. Grover will be here any minute and- ah, hello Grover."

I hear Grover greeting everyone and taking a seat. Then Chiron speaks. "Well, as you all know, the war isn't going too grate. I'm afraid we won't be able to hide it from the campers much longer. Just this morning, Will Solace was badly wounded. And King Lycaon has joined forces with the Protogenoi. Surprisingly, Epimetheus has sent word that he and several other titans are fighting this war on our side."

Someone, I think Percy, interrupts Chiron. "Whoa there, Chiron. Who's this King Lycaon guy? He have any kids?" I resist the urge to role my eyes. Seriously, come on, his girlfriend is a daughter of Athena. He should know this shit.

"King Lycaon could be considered the god of wolves. And yes, he has a child," Chiron says before he is interrupted by Clarisse La Rue.

"Well, shouldn't we kill it?" She shouts. I hear murmurs of agreement. Chiron silences them once more, but it is Annabeth who speaks.

"Clarisse and every one else here, I think you should know this," she shoots a glance at Chiron, who nods. "Do you all know Seth Lykos? Kind of short, has brown hair and weird eyes. Never talks?" I see people nodding. "He is the son of King Lycaon."

"Well if we kill him, no one'll care," Clarisse says. I really want to get up and punch her in the face.

"He's more powerful than you give him credit for," Nico mumbles. "He might actually be the best chance we've got at winning this." At this point, I get up; march down the remaining stairs and into the room. Not looking at anyone, I go through the room, making sure to hit Clarisse's shoulder as hard as I can with mine. I think I might have sprained it. She was wearing armour. I want to shout at them that I won't do this, that I'm not their puppet. I actually am about to, but then I remember my promise. I open the door, walk out, and make sure to slam it.

I can hear muffled shouts of 'idiot' and 'weird' combined with 'will you all just shut up!' I don't care. Now I am standing on the porch, I have no clue what to do. Should I go to the arena? _And get yourself beat to pulp by some Ares kids? No thanks._ I sigh mentally. Normally at this time of day, Chiron would be taking me to Demeter's cornfield. I guess not today. I try to think of my original schedule. Uh…. I think I would be riding pegasi around the lake right now. No thanks.

I want to head down to the beach but something stops me. At the top of Half Blood Hill, three shapes are coming into view. Normally, I'd just keep walking. But these kids look like they're my age. And they look like twins. Always fun. I start towards them at a slow jog, but other people are also beginning to notice.

The kids both look like Poseidon's sons. Black hair, tanned skin, green eyes, it's all there. But there's something off about one of them. He's not got that edge in his eyes that the other one and that Percy has. He looks very calm and many emotions play on his face at once. Their satyr is trying to keep the demi-gods away from them; he's trying to get them to the Big House. He has a very worried look on his face, but upon seeing me, his look hardens and he glares at me, stepping in front of the kids as if I'm going to hurt them. I turn and run. Why? It is the very same satyr who showed me around camp all those years ago. I don't want the other campers to see me cry.

I sit down on the sand and pull my legs up close to my chest. If there weren't the boundaries, today would be a windy and rainy day; I'm sure. But no. Sunny as ever. I close my eyes and place my head on my knees, letting the sun warm my neck. It's so weird here. Almost unnatural.

I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I know, it is dark outside and I can hear the harpies. Damn them. I role over onto my stomach and lie low until I can't hear them anymore. Then I slowly begin to crawl up the beach to the trees. When I reach the safety of the shadows, I get up and sprint. I run pointlessly into the woods, the feeling that something's following me never leaving. Maybe the doctors all those years ago were right. Maybe I am paranoid.

I am crying now. Crying and out of breath, but I still keep pressing my legs onwards, to the den. The den is something of a bunker that I built last year in case I ever ran away and needed shelter. I run and run, but none of the familiar landmarks come into sight. Finally I stop, falling to the ground, gasping for breath. I role over and puke onto a patch of grass. I look up at the woods around me. They are black and all the trees look the same. I bet the tree nymphs would kill me for saying that. And I bet they'll kill me for doing this, but getting eaten by monsters doesn't sound like fun. I go over to the nearest pine and begin to climb it.

By the time I get to the top, my hands are sticky from that weird sap like stuff, my face is scratched up by the pine needles and there is dirt all over me. Still, when I reach the top and see the moon clear above in the sky, all matters vanish. I perch on the tree top and fight the urge to howl at the moon. It seems so natural that I would do it. _Remember. Your mouth. Your cursed mouth._ I rub my hand over my mouth. Yeah. Cursed mouth.

I look back up at the moon. _Hey, some help please? A little guidance? _Nothing happens. I look to my hands, which are clawing into the bark of the tree. I pull them out, to see that my nails, which I have never paid much attention to, are hard and sharp. Almost like claws. Wolf claws. Great. One more curse I need to put up with. I put my hand out as if to cup the moon in it. Then the strangest thing happens.

My hand begins to glow. I can feel the raw energy in it, swirling around, wanting to get free. I seem to be drawing it from the moon itself. Then my hand begins to vibrate. The glow is spreading into my arm, and by the time it reaches my shoulder, I am shaking violently. _Use your power, brave one. Let it guide you. I'm waiting. _It's that wolf again. Just what I need. I try to ignore the voice, but soon my head is ready to burst. It is filled with the sounds of howling wolves, the roaring of waterfalls and the wolf's voice. My whole body is shuddering and I feel like my skin is cracking, turning into clay and shattering. I do what only seems sensible: concentrate on the energy. I create a path into each of my arms. Then I jump.

I land in a crouched position, as if I've been doing this forever, and slam my hands into the ground. I feel all the energy exiting through my arms and into the ground, which sprouts silvery white lightning. It takes all kinds of forms: wolves, water, owls, foxes, anything. The strikes reach higher and higher into the sky, and the animals get bigger and bigger, until one huge flash illuminates the sky and everything around me. A huge wolf emerges from the ground, and every animal that came before it is turning into wisps of silvery energy and joining with the big wolf.

I remove my hands from the ground, but it's too late. The wolf has fully formed and is shaking its fur and looking around itself, it's eyes finally locking with mine. _You have freed me, brave one. Come here, let me reward you. Join me and your father and unite against the enemy; the half bloods and the gods. _I consider it. Briefly, I'll admit it. But only briefly. Then I feel my anger flare. How can she ask this of me? I have just released her and she asks me to betray the half bloods and the gods? Normally I wouldn't have a problem with that, but she's asking me to betray Demeter and Chiron and Nico and the two new kids, who don't even know what's going on with their lives.

I feel my paw like hands dig deep into the soil. My eyes narrow. And I let out a long, inhumane growl. Everything around me goes silent. Then I open my mouth and roar. The wolf turns and flees into the trees, but I stand up and follow it. I sprint with a speed I never knew I had. Everywhere, woodland animals and monsters make room for me as I chase the monster I raised. I have to kill it.

I barely notice the cold. It seems like I have a protective layer around me. I cut through the wind, never losing sight of the wolf. The terrain doesn't seem to bother me; I just jump over logs and duck out of the way of trees, like my instincts tell me to. What my instincts don't tell me is that silvery moon monsters and disappear through rocks. I come to a stop at the base of a huge cliff. There, I pace, growling up at the rock. I do this the whole night, until the sun begins to rise. That is when I begin to feel again.

I feel tired; worn out from running all night. I lie down on the cool soil, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep. I lie there, twitching, not knowing if I will ever find my way back to camp. Wondering if I can live with the monster I became last night. Wondering if I can kill both monsters I created last night.


	3. Present

**III. Present**

I wake up because of the heat. Apollo must be happy again today. I am drenched in sweat and plastered in dirt, and when I check my reflection in a small pool, I state that I look like a hobo: dark rings under my eyes, dirt smeared everywhere, torn clothes. Just what I swore I'd never be. Of course, that was before… never mind.

I look around me, and the feeling that something is following me is back. That's weird. It's not even night, when the primordial fear of the dark kicks in. Then I remember the men in white. _"He's got paranoia, ODD, ADHD and dyslexia, Mrs Kane."_ I frown at the memory. I never knew what ODD was, the ADHD explained itself, school explained the dyslexia to me and the paranoia diagnosis was just scary. I am still scared today when I think of that day.

I climb the same pine I did yesterday and sit there, letting the sun shine down on my face for the rest of the day, desperately waiting for the moon to rise. When it finally does, it isn't full anymore, for which I am grateful for. I reach out again, as if to cup the moon in my hands, but this time I am prepared. I focus on the energy, trying to think of a way to get pack to camp. I take the energy into the palm of my hand and channel it through my finger, picturing a path back to camp.

I jump down from the tree again, landing on all fours, but when I look around the floor, there is nothing there. No line leading off into the woods that'll show me back to camp. But wait. There! I brush away some pine needles so that I can see the earth. There, in the earth, is a glowing silver paw print. I look up in the direction it is pointing, and I see another one begin to glow. I go to it, and ahead I see the next. I first walk, and then jog, then run, and finally I am sprinting along the paw prints that will hopefully lead me to camp. All thoughts and feelings of paranoia and ADHD leave me and I find my senses opening up, just like they did last night.

When I finally get out of the forest after hours of running, it is almost midnight; I can tell by the moon. The harpies aren't out yet, and I can see a figure running from the Athena to the Poseidon cabin. Go figure. I run to the Big House, not stopping until I am safely inside with the door locked. The room is dark; Chiron and Dionysus have gone to bed. I am somewhat relieved with this, not wanting Chiron's disapproving glare on me again and a long lecture on how if I would talk, things would be a lot easier. Like I don't know that.

I go up to my room, exhausted, not bothering to take a shower. I just quickly wash my hands and splash some water on my face. I walk over to my hammock, wanting just to curl up under the blankets and go to sleep, but something is lying on it. I take the object out, examining it and the note with it closely.

It is like a double ended spear that reaches my shoulder. No, it _is _a double ended spear. I twirl it around in my hands; it feels so natural. Then I pick up the note. _You have proven yourself of great worth last night, son. I am proud of you- King Lycaon_. By the time I had finished reading the small note, it is crumpled up and stuck to bull's-eye with some tape. I take the spear and hurl it against it, for the first time hitting the red circle. I don't care though. I lie down in my hammock, angrily balling my fists. I look up at the ceiling as the tears begin to flow.

I sleep in the next morning, only shortly waking up for a few seconds or minutes at a time. At some point in the night, the spear must've fallen out of the wall because it is lying in front of it, the golden tip gleaming in the sunlight. I just pull the dark curtains shut, not wanting to see anything. I lay awake for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling again, trying not to think of things. I hear the door open and close, and I hear Chiron making his way across my room. I have no clue how he got up here, but I have a feeling that he had some help from a Hecate kid or so. I pretend to be asleep.

"We were worried," he says, and I can feel his eyes on my back, which I have turned to him. "We thought you had joined your father. Phil from Thanatos saw quite a phenomenon in the woods two nights ago. He came to me, scared out of his mind. Said he'd never seen anything so terrifying." Way to rub it in, Chiron. I hear him walk over to where my spear is lying. I hear him un-crumple the paper. I can just see his brow creasing. "Seth, what are you hiding from us? What did you do two nights ago?" His voice is urgent, but I just pull the covers over my head.

I hear him sigh, but he doesn't leave. I wish he would. "Their names are Ivan and Igor, the new kids, and they've been asking about you. They were somehow intrigued by you and the way you stood in front of them. They remind me a lot of you and Sierra." I tense at the mention of her name. "They don't talk a lot, but it's clear they are best friends. But I don't know what happened to you and Sierra. One summer, you came back without her and you wouldn't talk. What happened to her, Seth?" I can feel him leaning over my hammock, but I just curl up and stuff my head under the pillow. Chiron sighs again and I can hear him leave the room.

Several hours later, I get up, take a shower, and change into some new clothes. It is morning, breakfast time to be precise. My moth is dry from not having drunk anything in the last few days and I feel weak and shaky from the loss of food and energy in my body. I walk down into the pavilion, where everyone is already eating. Normally, I would sit at the front table, but since I don't have a real table dedicated to my father, I go to the Thanatos table, which houses Phil, who saw me. He raises his eyebrows slightly when I sit down across from him, but doesn't say anything.

This is the first time I really notice Phil. He has dark blue hair with white tips that sticks out in every direction- that is awesome. He has almost black eyes, but when the sun is in them they look a light tan color. His skin, like most of the underworld gods' children, is relatively pale, but Phil's looks like he has tried to get a tan but has been unsuccessful. He's wearing a black hoodie with the symbol of Thanatos on the back: a sword crossed with a torch and a poppy flower in between. The rest of him is pretty normal: jeans and sneakers and a sword at his waist.

We eat in silence, but it isn't awkward or tense like I am expecting. It is relaxed, like Phil doesn't mind me being there. Towards the end though, he speaks. "Ya know, ya really don't needa hide. I'm sure them council members would accept ya for who ya are. I think it's actually kinda cool, ya know, your lupine powers 'n stuff." He at least sounds sincere. I look up at him and nod. "'Kay, look, how 'bout you and me in the arena right after breakfast. You show me your weird pankration moves and I'll show ya to handle a sword, got it?" Sounds like a plan. I slowly nod. Then I take out a little knife that I always keep at my waist and etch an image of my spear into the soft wood of the table. Next to it I put a question mark. He looks and his eyes widen.

"Dude, where'd ya get that? Definitely bring it; man, I've wanted to hold one o' those for ages." He sounds really enthusiastic. It seems to be affecting me, because I nod eagerly. Somewhere, we all like to show off a bit. I stand up from the table and race back to the Big House, get my spear, and race back down to the arena, hoping to get a bit of practice before fighting Phil. I'm lucky, because when I look, he's still sitting at his table, slowly chewing on a carrot.

I practice stabbing and slashing at a few dummies. Then I figure that my spear is more of a defensive weapon; and the ends are for either close range stabbing (as in really close range) or for long range throwing. I am in the middle of warming up for pankration when I hear a voice behind me. "Do you know who you're really fighting for?" The voice is heavily accented; my tip is Russian. The question makes me think. Do I know you I'm fighting for? For myself? For Demeter? For my father? "Because you seem like you don't know." I slam to the ground from my push up position, the air getting knocked out of my lungs. I turn around to see the twin who looked like Poseidon's kids standing there, sword in hand. "Ivan Schabayev, son of Poseidon," he says.

I stand up, brushing the dust off my clothes, and shake his outstretched hand. "Philip said he'd be here shortly," he says. "So I thought I'd come down here. Philip said you were a lonely child." I really hope that him not having English as his native language makes this sentence seem less awkward. I shrug and pick up my spear, and he readies his sword. I wait for him to make the first move, and he does. He comes at me, bringing his sword down from over his head. It isn't the smartest move, but it gives him the upper hand in the fight. I block his sword with my spear and kick his unprotected gut.

He stumbles back, but comes towards me again, grinning. I put on my serious face and keep fighting. It's the same for me: block, strike, block, strike. I grip my spear with both hands, each near one of the tips. Igor is good with his sword, but I soon notice his weakness. His grip on the sword isn't strong enough, and when he strikes, it seems like the blade is too heavy for him. This is my chance. I step back with my left foot as he strikes, stepping out with his right. I make a simple motion, just jabbing one of the ends of my spear at his hilt. I lay it on his hilt so that it is flat, and then I press down and towards him. His sword clatters to the ground and my spear is pointing at his stomach. I have won.

I hear clapping. Slow, deliberate clapping from one person, putting me down. It is the smug kind of clapping, like that of a warrior who knows he has won the fight before it has even started. I turn around to see Phil leaning against a column, a bored expression on his face. It soon turns into a smug smile as he walks towards me, his fingers on his hilt. "Not bad, not bad at all. But I'm afraid it was also naïve. A rookie mistake." I want to point out that these have nothing to do with each other. "You are tired; you have fought before the actual fight. You are exhausted, and your senses are dulling." I want to punch him. But he's right. Who cares? I take my fighting stance, my spear pointing at his chest. He laughs and pulls out his sword. "Bring it, Lykos."

It's like a taste of my own medicine. Both of us rely more on defence than offence, and so it comes that I am the first to strike, which gets him going. I bring my spear down, between his chest and his outstretched sword, and pull towards me. He quickly moves his sword out to the right and swipes at my side, which is undefended. I barely manage to block. I catch the side of his blade on a corner of my spear tip and pull up and around, sending his sword flying behind me, the hilt hitting a tired looking Percy Jackson, who is on the other side of the arena, on the head. I resist the urge to crack up.

Ivan and Igor, who has joined us, break out into identical grins and Phil is practically rolling on the ground laughing. I allow myself a small smirk as Percy Jackson rubs his head on the spot where the hilt hit him. His eyes pinpoint me as the source, and he starts walking towards me, Phil's sword in one hand and his in the other, not finding much pleasure in the situation. I cock my head and narrow my eyes, silently challenging him to a duel. Phil, Ivan and Igor fall silent as Jackson puts Phil's sword down and raises his own, pointing to the middle of the arena. I nod and follow him.

He is suited in full armour and I am not. This gives him the upper hand in body defence, but it weighs him down. I can see by the way he moves that the armour is heavy. I, on the other hand, only have on my long sleeved shirt and t shirt; nothing to protect me. This makes me more vulnerable, but I can move around quicker than Jackson. It gives me the agility of a wolf.

I briefly look around myself, taking note of the terrain. The floor is somewhat uneven, which gives me a benefit since I can jump around things more easily. The columns might be enough to play around, but definitely not enough to hide behind. If I step back enough and towards one of them and then suddenly attack, I might get Jackson off his feet. It's a plan. Jackson tightens the last few straps on his armour and then turns to me.

This time I attack right at the beginning. Jackson is better than I thought, and he has an advantage with his shield. My plan to drive him backwards is failing. Instead, we are slowly gravitating around each other, always staying in the center of the arena. I feel more and more people gathering in the stands, wanting to see this. Jackson begins to press harder, wanting to end this quickly, so that it doesn't seem like it took him long to beat an eleven year old. He feints to my left and I am left weapon less. He grins triumphantly, only to be kicked in the groin. Just because I don't have a spear doesn't mean I don't have a weapon. I _am _a weapon.

I see Jackson's eyes widen in fear and mingled surprise as I start attacking. I hack at his arm and his sword clatters to the ground. A few minutes later, his shield also is. It is clear that I am at an advantage here, and I am enjoying it. Jackson attempts a few feeble kicks, but I block them all easily. Then he tries punching my face. Big. Mistake.

I take his right forearm (the one that was punching me) and swing it down, securing it at my waist. I step in with my right leg so our knees are touching, and in one swift movement, I turn my legs so he is thrown over my knee and is lying on the ground, his right hand still held at my waist and my foot resting on his ribcage. I have won this battle. For the first and probably last time in history, I have won against Percy Jackson.

The crowd quickly begins to thin when it becomes clear that their favourite hero has lost. I let Jackson go, who just scampers off to be with his girlfriend. At the end of it, only Phil, Ivan and Igor are left standing, watching as I get my stuff. I slowly get my spear, put it on my back, and start walking out of the arena. I don't know where I'm going. Only after a few minutes does it become clear: the woods. Phil, Ivan and Igor are still following me and I don't stop them.

We track through the woods in silence, none of them talking. After a few hours, I notice the sun beginning to set. I turn right at a maple tree and left at the fox borough. Then I keep going straight. Heading towards the heart of the forest. The den. Where I will meet my doom. My father.

**Short A/N: I'm sorry I didn't update at all his week, put I don't have much time at the moment. I will probably be updating about once a week, maybe twice. Again, sorry. But still, review, yes?**


	4. Scared

**IV. Scared**

I hear weapons being drawn behind me as we face my father. I find myself taking my fighting stance. .My father merely shrugs. He stands there, with his pack of vicious wolves, looking at us with a blank expression. I feel my eyes narrow and my muscles tense. I don't want to see him. Never. Not after what he did. What he's doing.

He raises his hand and we automatically raise our weapons. "Please. I come in peace," he says. I shake my head slowly, never letting him out of my sight. "You do not talk, child," he states. "That is unfortunate. You know, if you had talked, maybe Sierra-" he starts, but never gets to finish. On the mention of _her _name I jump at him, my leg outstretched to kick him. A wolf jumps in my way, but it soon lands on the ground several meters away. I let out a half bark half snarl and launch myself at the bastard.

Around me I hear the snarls and barks and howls from the pack, but Phil, Ivan and Igor are fighting them. I take the leader. I take my father. I bare my teeth and feel my animal senses taking over as the moon begins to rise. I snap at Lycaon's head, wanting to rip it off. He grins and we begin circling each other, the bloodlust written clear on our faces. All we want to do is kill each other. Unfortunately, he ahs the advantage here.

Lycaon is the first to strike. He lashes out with his sharp claws, leaving several long scratches on my face. I can feel the blood running down, and in a strange and sick way, it makes me feel stronger. I duck and roll under Lycaon's feet. He jumps up; just the reaction I wanted. I come up behind him and pounce onto his back, my hands around his neck and my teeth millimetres from sinking into his flesh. So good. The smell of flesh.

He whips around, snapping my neck back, but my hands remain with their firm grip on his neck. I dig my heels into his sides and push myself up, which means he goes down. I feel him sink several inches as his knees start to give away. I clamp my fingers around his Adams apple and push in. He gasps, and I push harder. I also push my thumbs into his carotid arteries. Finally, I feel him fall to the ground. I get off his back, backing off slowly, my hands still in front of me so that I can block or punch- whatever is necessary. But he doesn't move.

I hear howl all around me. Several wolves run to Lycaon and hoist him up, while the others circle menacingly. I just growl at them to clear out. Several pull in their tails and only a handful still growl at me. I watch them until I can't see them between the trees anymore. Then I turn, to see Ivan lying on the ground, wounded from a wolf bight, Igor leaning over him, trying to stop the bleeding, and Phil staring at me. I bark at him, literally, and he jumps to attention.

I point towards camp, and he understands. I walk over to Ivan and Igor, deciding to take advantage of my current state. I hoist Ivan onto my shoulders and start running. It's so simple. Almost too simple. I run. Igor follows. I know that I shouldn't be able to lift someone with Ivan's weight, myself being an almost underweight eleven year old. But I feel strength from the previous fight and the moon seems to be shining brighter every time I look at it.

We reach camp in just one hour. We can already see a group of people running towards us, and I can feel my energy draining with the rise of the sun. I become aware of my physical state; that I cannot take another step. I try and stumble into Chiron, who catches me. He takes me by the underarms and puts me on his back, just like he did in Demeter's cornfield. The second I sit down on Chiron's back, I pass out.

_I dream of Demeter. She is in the cornfield, smiling at me. But she looks sad. Like something bad has happened. Or is going to happen. I want to reach out and hug her, tell her everything will be okay. But I doubt she speaks wolf. She smiles a tearful smile and touches my forehead softly, right between my eyes. The scene shifts._

_I am in a garden of sorts. I look around me. I am wearing what I would've worn about a year ago. One year, fifty three days, one hour and nine minutes ago. I am wearing a light tan jacket and cargo pants. I look up to see _her_there. Sierra, with her waist length red hair that is always getting in the way, her brown eyes staring into mine. "Why did you leave, Seth? I needed you."_

_I want to reply that it's not my fault, and that I need her too. Hell, if she were here, I'd be talking. She just smiles sadly, and her smile reminds me of Demeter's. Right. She was Demeter's daughter. "You were brave, Seth. But why weren't you there? I called for you, but you didn't come…" She reaches out to touch my face, but as she does, everything begins to dissolve. "Why didn't you come?"_

I wake up, shivering, in my hammock. I bolt right up, my eyes wide, looking wildly around me. Sierra? Where are you? Then I lean back. It was just a dream. Just a bloody dream. I let out a whimpering howl to no one. Somewhere I can hear rapid footsteps. Someone bursts into my room a few minutes later. I just turn my back to whoever they are. I don't want company. Not right now. Right now, I just want to be alone and think about what could have been.

The person doesn't leave and I begin to feel like I'm under murderer watch. I never change my position, never look behind me. I stare out of the window as the day passes and turns into night. At some point, I see Ivan leave the infirmary with his arm in a sling. But even this doesn't keep my mouth from staying in a firm straight line. I just stare. Jackson going to the arena with Clarisse. Will Solace being carried out of the infirmary, covered in bandages. I wonder what happened. Nico talking to someone who looks suspiciously like Jimi Hendrix.

It's like they think nothing's happening. They all laugh and shrug off events so easily. I guess that just because they defeated a titan, they think that they don't have a care in the world. I clench my fists at this. How can they just be that way? I find myself growling at the window, and a firm hand is placed on my back. I turn to see Phil standing there.

My first instinct is to attack. But look where my last instincts got me. I let out a slow, shaky breath. Phil takes his hand from my shoulder and leans down so we're talking on eye level. "Ya know, if ya wanna talk, any of us will listen." His accent is back. "Look, Chiron's sendin' Percy Jackson on a quest. D'ya really wanna let that happen?" I shake my head. I feel like a stubborn five year old who won't talk. I just shake or nod my head. "Exactly. So, I'll go to Chiron and tell him our plan. You, Ivan, Igor and me, yeah? We got this next quest. I know it," he says with a smile. But this time, his enthusiastic mood doesn't affect me. I turn away, pulling my knees to my chest and laying my head in them. If only I had been there for Sierra.

A few hours later, Phil is back. By his expression I can tell that he didn't get his wish. He kicks a box, sending candy all over the floor. "Damn Percy Jackson. Why in Thanotos' name does he get all the quests? He doesn't even know what happened last nigh!" Outside, a bug drops from the sky, dead. Maybe a side effect of an angry Thanatos son. "I mean, I presented my case well and even Annabeth and Nico backed me up, but Chiron just says that we're too young. Ugh!" He picks up a knife and hurls it at the bull's-eye. It hits dead center and outside, a butterfly drops from the sky. He looks and shrugs. "I never liked butterflies anyway."

Towards evening, we go downstairs for dinner. Igor, who has refused to sit at the Poseidon table with Jackson, is sitting with us, and with him, Ivan. Phil says Thanatos won't mind. Every one dies anyway. We're all the same that way. I guess he had a point. We eat in silence, occasionally glaring at Jackson, but none of us do anything. Once Chiron has spoken, it's final.

I also sometimes look to the Athena table. I can tell by the way Annabeth is glaring at Jackson that she also isn't too happy with him. Nico is talking to a skeleton warrior who looks like he was a Neanderthal, and doesn't notice anything around him; too busy learning how to grunt and snort. It's quieter than usual. And that's sort of disturbing, because Ivan, Igor and Phil were planning on discussing a way to sneak out of camp at night. I guess that'll have to wait until after dinner.

I poke around at my bacon, not feeling like eating it. It's cold anyway. I stand up, not waiting for the end of breakfast, and leave the pavilion, wanting to spend time on my own. I head down to the beach, to s strip that borders the woods that no one except me knows about. It has good waves and dolphins and sharks play freely there, not harming each other. It's like the example of a perfect world: natural enemies living together, playing with each other.

I sit down by the water, letting the evening sun warm my face. I feel warm here; almost complete. Suddenly, I tense. I feel a presence behind me; not a human one. Animal. For a second I think that my father is back, but when I whip around, it's just one wolf.

She is small, whimpering, broken. Her leg is torn up, bleeding, covering the forest floor where she stands. Long scratches cover her left eye, which is caked in blood, almost as if another wolf had lashed out at her. And I recognize her. She was with my dad's pack. She had been the one trying to get to me, but others had held her back. It was like they were attacking her. I stand up, walking towards her with an outstretched hand. Her head is at the height of my stomach; bigger than a normal wolf but small for Lycaon's pack. She first pulls away, but then leans in and lets me touch her forehead.

The moment my hand touches her fur, everything changes. I become aware of everything around me; the colors are brighter. I become aware of the voices. The ones that have always been there, but now they're getting loud. As if they were real. In the distance, people are scared; someone has been attacked. Closer, there is a big fight. I hear many voices, but only two sound human.

Then I hear the wolf's voice. _There is a fight, master. The pack has attacked a friend of yours. They're battling very near. I got wounded. I came to you for help. Please go save them._ Her eyes are pleading me, and I can tell it's urgent. Not wasting a moment, I jump up and run towards the noises. When I come to where they actually are, I can hear so many voices clearly in my head. It's like always, when I'm around wolves, but this time it's clearer. It's like the wolf is permanently in me. It scares me. Hearing people's and wolves' thoughts.

I run into the center of the fight, where someone is battling a wolf that is about twice their size and triple their weight. The person is Phil. The wolf bites his shoulder and rips it out, blood spraying everywhere, and tosses it aside. Phil screams in agony and sinks to the ground, bleeding out into the soil. The wolf gives a bark like laugh. _Foolish boy_, it thinks.

I charge. I don't know why, but it's like my mind goes blank and is being replaced by some killing machine's mind. It's not me who's acting. It's my wolf instincts. I sink my teeth into the huge wolf's neck, tearing at it. _Oh, pesky little son of a bitch, _the wolf thinks and I tear harder. When I get a chunk of neck out, I throw it aside just like Phil's shoulder, and go for more. The wolf's eyes go big as it recognizes me. _Retreat! We have special orders, retreat! That is a command! Samu, stop eating that fox, this is an order, retreat!_

Then they're gone. I fall to the ground next to Phil, so tired I'd fall asleep if he weren't dying. I press the wound, trying to get the bleeding to stop, but it won't. _Chelsea, I'll never see her again. I'll die and she'll know nothing. And Percy Jackson will get my fucking quest. Damn it. _He opens his eyes and smiles weakly at me. "There's a girl from the Ares cabin. Her name's Chelsea. Tell her I loved her. Or… uh… get Ivan or Igor to do it. Huh. Now I'm dying, mind telling me why ya don't talk?" He sounds so sure. I open my mouth and start speaking, but no words come out. Only silence. My lips are moving, but my voice is gone. Phil tries to put up his hand, but drops it. "It's okay. Just fight this war for us, will ya? I'm countin' on ya now, mate."

Those are Phil's last words. I close his eyes, and he looks peaceful, like I never knew he could be. A faint figure appears next to him, flickering. I catch random glimpses of him. He's got black hair and eyes that are pure blue. He looks almost like a god. A god. Thanatos. He looks at me and smiles sadly. "It was his time. Yours will come too, soon." He places his hand on Phil's face and it looks like he is drawing a light from him. Phil's essence. I feel the wolf from earlier on rest her head on my shoulder as I kneel on the forest floor, crying over Phil's blood that still forms a red blotch on it. _Yours will come too, soon. _

**What do you think?**

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	5. Trail

**V. Trail**

**Oh. My. Gods. ****IT'S SNOWING ON THANKSGIVING DAY! :D**

**Okay, I normally don****'t reply to reviews, but here goes:**

**No One You Know () : no, I really have no clue who you are, but yes, you are the only one who as reviewed this story recently and thanks for all the advice you have given me- appreciate it :)**

Things have gone back to normal. Only, they haven't. It's just like the rough surface of a piece of straw that isn't really rough. You just slide your finger over it and when you pull it away, you're bleeding. Percy Jackson left the morning after Phil died; only taking Grover with him. Annabeth refused to go. She said it was Phil's quest. And that Ivan, Igor and I should go.

Chiron has started taking me out to the cornfield again, but now, Ivan and Igor come too. None of us talks. Leigh, the wolf that came to me, now follows me wherever I go. It's nice to know that at least one of them is on my side, but it's also scary, because I have become somewhat telepathic. And I don't like it one bit.

Imagine you can hear what everyone thinks. One might think that it's cool, but it's not. You see every single thought, you can listen in to the smallest detail and the things you don't want to hear are much grater than the things you do want to hear. I can hear all the things people think, and some of those thoughts are darker than the person who's thinking them knows. Like Annabeth. She's really nervous about Percy being away, and she doubts whether or not she actually loves him. And she's having weird dreams that she's only telling Nico about. Her dreams are of danger, titans and primordials rising. Prometheus has spoken to her and once he even almost convinced her to betray Percy. Because he had shown her a holograph of a man named Luke.

It is well past sunset when Chiron comes to pick us up. He says that tomorrow will be our last day here because it has gotten too dangerous. Apparently Percy has come back and is in the infirmary. How, I don't know, seeing that he's invincible. Of course, Annabeth will be at his side, weeping for him. I feel bad that I haven't looked for Chelsea yet. When I look at the Ares table during meals, I can only see the usual crowd: Clarisse, Martha, Shawn and Lawrence. All the summer campers have already left and it is getting towards winter, I think. I wouldn't know.

The next day, we are at Demeter's before sunrise. She looks tired and almost old as she greets us, and she looks sad for some reason. I guess Persephone is going to the underworld soon. But that doesn't seem to be it. Then I remember. Today, one year and sixty days ago, Sierra… died. Sixteen and 160 had always been her favorite numbers. When we get to the cornfield, Ivan and Igor run off to the creek, but I stay with Demeter.

I don't know why, but I run up to her and hug her tightly, burying my face in her dress, letting my tears stain it. Too many things have gone wrong lately. She just stands there, her hands on my shoulders, letting me cry until I can't anymore. She crouches down, wiping my face with her dress, telling me to look up and be brave. "Your friend Phil was more powerful and important than you think, Seth. His death is a greater loss on our side than you could possibly imagine." Way to make me feel happy. "Sierra was also that way. None of us gods know why, but some of us are born with extraordinary powers, and if they are slain, the slayer will be even more powerful. They were like the Ophiotaurus. With slaying the innocent comes terrible power."

Now I understand. Why Sierra did what she did. She didn't jump because I hit her. Not because I called her things I would never call her, not because I bit her. She was trying to protect me. She jumped off the bridge so that Olympus would live. "The Titans and Primordials will go at great length to kill you. Remember, Phil tried to protect you. That is why he followed you into the woods. He died, knowing that you would help. You have a job to do, Seth. Help us win this war. At all costs."

I run. I don't want to hear any of this. I let go of Demeter and run into the maze of corn, letting the dust get into my eyes and the corn scratch my face and neck. I am not innocent. I have helped kill two of my best friends. And if I'm not careful, I'll kill myself and Ivan and Igor. I look behind me, half expecting to see Demeter there, but all I see is Leigh. She looks at me with her big eyes. _What is wrong, Seth?_ We have to find Ivan and Igor. I bend down and draw them in the dirt. _Find Poseidon and… who? Prometheus? Epimetheus? Damn, I could never keep them apart. The boys are down by the creek and oh! You want me to take you there. Got it. _Leigh can be slow at times. I follow her through the field and after about ten minutes, we reach the creek.

"Took you long enough. Okay, let's get down to business. We have talked with Chiron and he isn't letting us on a quest. Apparently, the reason why Perseus is in the infirmary is because he has gone mad- not even Dionysus can cure him. Chiron does not want that happening to any other camper. So, the plan is to get Chelsea Dagger, get you, and get out," Igor, the one who always has a plan, says. Sounds like a good plan, apart from the fact that I have no clue what he is talking about. But I trust him. "Meet us in the Thanatos cabin right after sunset."

I nod. But my thoughts soon wander off into space. I fall asleep, dreaming of flying sheep and murky water. The sheep are flying around a body in the water. I jump off the bridge I am standing on so I can get into the water. I can save the person. I know it. I hit the water and feel like my guts just got sliced open. But I ignore the pain, swimming quicker and deeper, trying to get the Sierra's body. I am about to touch it when a sharp pain races through my spine. I twitch back and let a huge air bubble out of my mouth. The sheep fly faster as an evil voice fills the water, cackling. _If you want your friends back, you'll have to die yourself. _Phil and Sierra's images flash through the water. Sure, gladly, take me, kill me, please. _Oh no, my boy. You'll have to come here. Follow the trail. Just follow the trail…. _

I wake up with a start to see I am still by the creek. Igor is splashing Ivan with water and Ivan is making some sort of invisible wall to block it off. I am resting my head against Leigh's warm body, and in the distance, the sun has nearly set completely. I was out the whole day. This is weird. But, then again, my sleeping patterns have been weird lately. I stand up, brushing the dust off my pants, and look around. I can see Demeter coming towards us. Great. Just what I need. Another motivational speech from her.

"Children! You must leave. A bad storm is on its way, and my brother isn't the one causing it!" I look up and as I see the storm clouds, I can just feel the shadow passing over my face. The clouds are in the shape of wolves. My father. Ivan and Igor scurry around, getting their stuff, and Demeter turns to me again. "Seth, remember what I said. You're fighting this war now. Take Ivan and Igor, find Chelsea, and leave before they kill you. When you get to camp, do not talk to anyone. Do not look at any one or touch anyone. Go straight to your room and stay there until midnight, when you'll sneak out to the Thanatos cabin. Got it?" I nod; finding it strange that a goddess who isn't me parent would talk to me like this.

Demeter sets us on Leigh, who has a bigger back than I thought, and sends us to camp, not waiting for Chiron. As we flit over the countryside, I can see the damage that the primordials have already caused. We pass through cities that have been burned down, and in front of one it says, or it used to say: 'Welcome to Los Angeles.' All that's left is the center of the center of the city, where a huge dark green banner with crossed arrows stands. The symbol of the Protogenoi.

Sooner than I want, we're in camp. I follow Demeter's advice, and avoid everyone, just taking Leigh straight up to my room and locking us in. I start pacing like a madman, thinking about everything that has happened today. In the distance, I can see the storm clouds moving towards camp. They'll be here by tomorrow morning. People will assume that they were caused by me and I'm now on the bad side. Okay, well this isn't good.

Leigh gives a quiet howl and I look over to her. She lies down and closes her eyes. After a few seconds, she opens one and looks up at me. She's right. I should get some sleep. Tonight's going to a long night. I walk over to my hammock and sink into the covers, letting them wrap around my head. And right before I fall asleep, my eyes fall on my spear that is lying in the middle of my room. I'll take it with me.

When I wake up, I almost think I've overslept. But then I look at the moon and find that it is just beginning t rise. It's probably about ten. I decide to go to the Thanatos cabin already. I walk over to my 'closet' and start picking out clothes. I won't take some spare clothes with me, so whatever I'm going to wear, it'll be that until I get back, and I'm not even sure I will. I narrow my eyes in the dark, trying to make out the different colors of the shirts. Seeing in color has never been my strength. I guess it's not necessary in the world of wolves.

I think in the end I settle in for a dark grey long sleeved shirt with a blue t-shirt over it that has two crossed swords on it and a star in the top of the X that is formed. I remember someone once telling me that the right sword stood for justice, the left one stood for trickery, and the star stood for balance. I'd need all three of these in this mission. I pull on some dark blue jeans and red converse, put my spear on my back, grab several little throwing knives and stick them in my waistband, and stand in the center of the room. Leigh is awake, looking at me expectantly. I open the door quietly and Leigh jumps out on her silent paws. I follow her, but one last thing catches my eye. It's from when Demeter took me to Germany to make beer. A long slab of chocolate that seems to be wrapped in a blue wrapper. I take it, remembering that it tasting incredibly good.

The campfire's still going but no one is paying attention to the little boy and the wolf that rush along side it and towards the cabins. When I'm sure no one sees me, I start running. The fear of the dark kicks in again and I feel like I'm the prey. No, Seth, shut up. Nothing's following you, you're just paranoid. I feel like crying. My life really sucks right now. My first friend ever died of leukemia. My first best friend committed suicide. My last best friend was killed by my father's lieutenant. Chiron and the hero of Olympus hate me. I have a god, five people and one wolf on my side. I face an army of millions. This is a three way war.

I slowly open the door to the cabin and place a foot tentatively on the floorboards. They don't creak, and I step in all the way. And there's a gun pointed at my temple. I spin on my heels, pointing my spear at the person who is about to kill me. She's a girl. Okay, go with that. I've never had a girl wanting to kill me before. She's about a head taller than me with strawberry blonde hair and bangs that are died red. Her eyes are blue, but she doesn't fit the stereotypical Aryan profile. Her skin is way too dark and even though she is taller than me, she isn't that tall. She's wearing a camp tank top underneath a hoodie that looks to be about two sizes too big. I recognize it as one of Phil's hoodies. She's wearing dark grey cargo pants and combat boots, but it still doesn't distract from the fact that her eyes are puffy from crying and the hand that is holding the gun is quivering. Chelsea.

She lowers the gun when she sees who I am. "Damn, Seth, couldn't you give a warning before you come in. I nearly put a bullet in your head. And yes, these are bullets that I made myself. They have three metals: stygian iron, celestial bronze, and steel." Yup, she's definitely a daughter of Ares. "Anyways. Ivan and Igor should be here soon, and then we can head off."

I don't like her. There's something about her personality that just makes me want to punch her. I don't know how Phil was attracted to her. I mean, she _is_ pretty, no doubt, but I feel like her personality isn't the most becoming. I shake my head and walk into the cabin properly, Leigh walking next to me. As soon as she sees a blanket, she pulls it off the bunk and onto the floor, curling up and going to sleep. I put my spear on the blanket less bunk and look around the cabin. Something on the dresser catches my eye. I walk over and pick it up. It's a picture of Phil and Chelsea at a beach somewhere. He's hugging her from the back and both of them are smiling like crazy people.

I turn the picture over to see writing. I try to make out the small scribbles, but it all blurs in my head. I shut my eyes, my mind spinning, dizzy from having tried to read whatever was written. When I open my eyes, the room is still somewhat out of focus, but I'm breathing. Chelsea is sitting on a bunk next to the one I was just in, looking at the gun in her hands. "You know, when you know how to use a gun, when you know you have that much power, it's really hard resisting. I mean, I could kill everyone in this camp and no one would notice because I have a silencer on it."

This is awkward. I stand with my back to her, taking in what she just said. I think of how it applies to me. Through my pankration training, I know the human body extremely well. I can kill someone in a heartbeat. And the scary part is that I'd probably never shed a tear and never lose some sleep if I did kill someone. I turn and walk back over to 'my' bunk, putting my spear on my lap. Then I hand it to Chelsea, who I can see really wants to hold it. Her eyes go soft as she touches the blades and her fingers slide along the wood as if it were completely smooth. "This is amazing. Breathtakingly beautiful. I've never seen one like this. So rare," I hear her murmur.

Then the door opens and both of us jump up. I take my spear and point it at the door and Chelsea pulls her gun and points it through the crack. She says something in what seems to be Russian. When she gets an answer, she drops the gun, holstering it at her side. The door opens all the way to reveal Ivan and Igor, both with identical looks on their faces and the same clothes on that they had the day they came. Each of them also has a sword and a hunting knife hanging at each side of their waist.

They nod to me and I go wake up Leigh. We step outside as a group, breathing in the cold night air. We head towards the woods, creeping along the edges of the water where we know that the harpies can't find us. But there is one stretch between the water and the woods that is heavily guarded. Igor holds me back and lets a low whistle sound across the camp. A feint, higher pitched whistle returns, and I see a firework go off right above the Athena cabin. Annabeth is still on our side. We race into the woods and don't stop until we have reached the den.

We sit on the rocks, panting, and partly freezing. I don't freeze. It's like I have this protective layer around me that keeps out the cold. After about ten minutes, Ivan and Igor say that we should go. We start walking west, to the nearest camp border, but I stop them. I see a familiar silver glowing. It gets brighter and brighter, until the other three have to shield their eyes. But I just stare at the center, where there is the wolf that I created. She smiles a cruel smile and turns, racing through the trees, leaving a silvery trail. She's leaving a trial. A trail. For us to follow. My mind goes on slow mode for a second, but then my thoughts catch up with me.

I growl at the trail. Then I smirk. Let the hunt begin.

**Okay, I'm running a bit low on creativity here. I need two more characters: one who's good and one who's evil. Please review with your character and include the basics like:**

**Their name:**

**Their age:**

**Parent:**

**May I kill them:**

**Powers (?):**

**Good or evil:**

**History:**

**Appearance:**

**Anything else:**

**Characters that are cliché-ed and sound like Mary Sue's/ Gary Stu's will not be accepted (a.k.a. daughters of Poseidon/ Artemis/ Kronos, Nico's crush…).**


	6. Base

**VI. Base**

**Thanks to everyone w****ho reviewed- you made me smile :) The characters I have chosen: Ava and Ciro (It wasn't that hard) and thank you again :D**

We get until Philadelphia when the trail goes cold- literally. Around Trenton the silvery path had begun to feel cold to the touch, and now, in Philadelphia, it is frozen solid, and here we are, somewhere in center city, with a broken off ice-tip. Great. Just what we need. We're lost, cold, and hungry, away from anything we are familiar with, and with a trail gone cold. We sit down in a diner, deciding to have at least one last warm meal before heading off again.

We sit there, Ivan and Igor talking in low voices in Russian, Chelsea drawing weapons out of ketchup on her tray, and me just staring out the window. If we just wait until the moon rises, I can create a path. Leigh is outside in the alley. I get up, hiding my chicken wings under my shirt, and go to her. We all had agreed that a wolf in a diner might not be the smartest. I walk out the door and find people staring at me weirdly as they walk by. I turn and check my reflection in the glass window.

I look normal. The only weird thing about me is that my hair has grown about two inches from when I last saw it. Then I turn and look at everyone else. They are huddled up, wearing huge coats and big hats. Then it strikes me. I'm just wearing a shirt and pants. It's weird, because I don't feel the cold, and because I seem to be steaming. I shrug and start walking again, into the alley to where Leigh is, and am met by sword tip pointed at my face.

I guess that I should've taken some kind of defensive position, but all I can do is raise my eyebrows, dropping the chicken wings. Beyond the sword, I can see two light blue eyes peering at me through the darkness. I raise my hands as a universal sign of defeat and I hear Leigh on her feet next to me, trying to growl through bights of chicken wings. I laugh. Sort of. My body shakes and I make strange, strangled sounding noises that somehow sound like silent laughs. It's funny in a sick, strange way that I am laughing at this. A look of disgust forms on the face with the blue eyes as she steps into the light, never lowering her sword. _What the Hades is he doing?_ She thinks. Then, it's not funny any more. I want to puke, disgusted with myself. This is how you handled Sierra's death, Seth. You stood there at the bridge, laughing. I feel tears begin to form in my eyes as I think of this. _Okay, why's he crying? Holy crap, what did I do? No, Ava, stop thinking like that. For all you know, he might be an enemy. _I see her tighten her grip on her sword as her eyes keep boring into mine.

Then I hear the voices of Ivan and Igor shouting for me. Before long, they stumble into the alley, to find me still holding the girl's, Ava's, stare. Her eyes are weird. They seem to be light blue, but right around her pupil, it's a mesh of grey, green and brown. They hold a lot of history, as does her panicking mind. But one thing stands out and is the message written clearly on her face: she doesn't trust us. And according to her thoughts, she doesn't trust easily. Ivan and Igor draw their swords and Chelsea pulls out her gun, but Ava opens her mouth and speaks. "If you want your friend to live, you'll drop your weapons." Damn, she knows how to handle the situation.

"Now you will tell me what I want to know. I need your names, your mission and who you are working for. Now!" To the outside she may sound brave and threatening, but I can tell she's panicking. Ivan begins to talk, but Ava cuts him off. "Not you. Him," she says, nodding her head in my direction. I just keep holding her gaze, not saying anything. Why should I? Huh, you know, this is what got you in trouble last time. You just wouldn't open your mouth. "Why aren't you talking, wolf boy?" I make sure to change my gaze into a glare, a cold and hard one.

"He doesn't talk," Ivan says. "But please, let me answer your questions." Ava's eyes dart over to him for a millisecond before focusing on me again. She nods and Ivan starts talking. I am Ivan, son of Poseidon. This here is Igor, son of Prometheus, the girl here is Chelsea, daughter of Ares and the boy you are threatening is Seth, son of King Lycaon. We are out on our own quest, following a trail until it was turned to ice and we stopped. We are on… uh… well; we aren't on anyone's side, really. Who are you?" He flashes her a smile. Oh, gods, I can't believe he's trying to flirt with her. It's literally flirting with danger. I want to face-palm.

"Ava. Daughter of Khione. And we're on the same side." With this, she lowers her sword and stretches out her hand. I take it, noticing her pale skin and the way that it is cold, even to my touch. "And it was me who froze the path. It was leading you straight to the Home Base of the Primordials." She says it so simply, as if it were totally obvious. Her left hand goes up to her light brown hair, twirling it in a nervous habit, it seems.

"Well, I think that that was where we were going," Igor says. Ava rolls her eyes.

"No. You don't. Trust me."

"Why should we?" We all turn to Chelsea, who has just spoken so out of term. Ivan hisses at her to shut up, but I just narrow my eyes in a questioning way at her. She shrugs. "After all, you don't trust us, we know nothing about you and we don't even know if you're telling us the truth. How would we? None of us is a lie detector. And if I'm not mistaken, we're all pretty convincing liars here. I am not an exception. And neither is the mute. Chiron has told me about him."

Ava nods. "You can't trust me. You have no clue as to whether or not I'm lying. And I can't trust you. So I guess we make a good match then. Anyway, as I was saying, you don't want to take the path you had to the Base. It'll lead you the most direct way which will get you killed. If you want, I can show you a way that only I know about."

"And how come only you know about it?" I can tell that Chelsea still doesn't trust Ava.

"Because I am the first and only alive deserter of their army," Ava states matter-of-factly. I nod. Her explanation is good enough for me. I don't know why, but I trust her. It's something about the way she says things, how there is a slight crease between her eyes when she is thinking, and it's the way she acts. Almost remorseful. Like she has done something bad that she can't reverse. Like my past. My past is something bad that I can't reverse. I guess this is why I really came on this quest. So I could end my life and see Sierra again. Once in the underworld, I'd beg her to kill me again for what I did to her and yeah. I breathe out heavily through my nose, and beckon everyone to start walking. They understand. It's not safe here. People might start getting suspicious. Ava douches a point on the hilt of her sword and it shrinks down into a necklace with a snowflake charm on it. I wish my spear did something like that.

Ava says she knows a place where we can stay where we won't freeze, so she leads the way, with Ivan talking to her eagerly (she only gives short answers and avoids talking most of the time), Igor walks awkwardly in the middle and Chelsea and I bring up the rear. After about the fifth turn and we're out on a main street again, she starts talking to me. "I don't trust her. You see, I used to know her. We were best friends until third grade, when she disappeared. When I was in sixth grade, I came to camp to find her there. She said she'd been there all along. I didn't get angry at her or anything. We went back to being friends. We both had a common friend from the Athena cabin, Ciro. Well, one day, Ciro was gone, and so were Ava and many others. A few months after that, I learned about the Protogenoi. And guess who's leading them. Yup; Ciro Metis. And his lieutenant was Ava," she finishes, breathing heavily. _If I can get my hands around her little neck, I swear I will…_ I softly punch her arm, looking into her eyes. "How could you… oh. Yeah, Chiron mentioned something like this. Telepathy when you're around wolves?" I nod.

We walk for another hour until we stop in front of an expensive looking hotel. We go around it and climb into a window on the first floor. From there, Ava leads us through a maze of corridors and doors, until she stops at a heavy looking metal one. Next to me, I feel Chelsea tense and her hand go to her gun. I myself find my hands going to my spear, ready to attack anything that lies beyond those doors. Come on, Seth, you're just paranoid, I tell myself. But is still feel panicky. I blink rapidly, and my thoughts begin to wander off to the last time I had stood in front of a door like this….

"_Come on, Seth, it's completely safe," Sierra smiled as she pulled me along the hall, towards the big metal door. "You'll see when we're out there; it's amazing."_

_I shook my head, still angry at her for waking me up at four in the morning. Of course, there was the fact of our fight yesterday. I was still mad at her for that. For not telling me my mother had died. I still followed her past the door and outside. We were standing on a huge bridge overlooking a long river, and right above it, the sun was rising. I felt cold sweat break out on my forehead. Afraid of heights. Don't look down, just don't look down. _

"_Come on, Seth; are you really still angry at me? She's just your mother." She said playfully. I snapped. I started shouting at her._

"_Well, bitch, if you think it's so easy to come home and have your fucking BEST FRIEND tell you that your mother was MURDERED, then why don't you go do that? I can arrange for your dad's death easily. Do you think he'll like knowing that his daughter is such a little slut?" I shouted, punching her in the gut. Then, I had no clue what came over me. I just let my animal instincts come over me. I bit her arm, tearing at it._

_She pulled away, tears in her eyes. "I came here this morning to say goodbye, Seth." And with that, she turned, got on the railing, and jumped. I laughed. Sick, maniac laughter echoed through the morning as she plunged to her death. When she hit the water and I watched her lifeless body sink and rise up again, that laughter turned into bitter tears. I'm sorry, Sierra._

"D'you think he's dead? I mean, he's been out for how long?" I hear a voice asking from above me. What the Hades, of course I'm not dead.

"Oh, let me through," I hear a rough voice say. I feel someone touch my arm, but nothing happens. "This is weird," they say. "This usually works even better than a bucket of ice."

"Ava, we don't want to get him sick. We need him, remember. And seeing that you only trust him out of all of us-"

"Are you questioning me, Titan?"

"No, I'm just being reasonable, Winter."

"No, you're not. Well, maybe in your head."

"Can you just shut up, both of you?"

"I don't see the problem, Chelsea. I would like to hear what Titan Boy over here has to say."

"Okay, Ava, Igor, Chelsea, please, just shut up. We have more important things to discuss."

"Oh shut up, Goldfish."

"Has she always been like this?"

"Yup, used to call me Warhead all the time."

I slap my hand on the ground. They get it and fall silent and I feel their eyes bore into my body. I just turn. I'm not ready to face them yet. My nightmare comes flooding back into my mind and I notice every single detail- the sweat on Sierra's forehead, the remorse I felt, the warmth of those stinging sunrays on my face that day, the dull splat of Sierra's body hitting the water. "Seth, come on, get up, we can only be here temporarily." I do my best to shrug indifferently as I still lie on my side. That's the thing about ODD. It's basically obedience issues. I don't take orders easily.

"Does he ever listen?" Ava asks. I hear clothes rustling and a murmured reply that I can't understand. I sit up, rubbing my eyes at the dim light in the small but warm room. I look around me and raise my eyes slightly at Ava. "We're in the boiler room of the Golden League- a fancy, like really fancy, club here in center city. How are you feeling?" I shrug again. I feel like shit. Seriously. My head is pounding with my nightmare and the voices that woke me up, my stomach is empty from having eaten in a few days, and I feel like I'm going to puke any second now.

Ava hands me a bottle of clear water and I gulp it down. Next she hands me a small square of Ambrosia, and eat that too. Her arms shake slightly as she hands me the things, and I can tell she's in a hurry. I look around me and then at the clock on the wall that conveniently shows the date. November 11th. Uh… I'm sure it was still October when we left camp. Ava follows my path of vision and it too rests on the date. "When I opened the door, you acted weirdly. Almost like you had rehearsed this. You just started walking to the bridge. Then you started shouting insults at some invisible person. You punched them pretty hard. Then you bit them. Your eyes moved over the bridge towards the water and you started laughing. Then you cried. You… uh… kind of stamped your foot and your eyes glowed and you… uh… made a crater in the bridge. Then you passed out. You've been out for a week and a half." Okay, this is weird. And maybe it was already November when we left. Ugh, this is so messed up.

"Well now that he's awake, I think we should get going. I arranged with my dad for a couple of hippocampi to take us to wherever we need." I raise my eyebrows at Ivan. "Okay, I didn't arrange it with my dad. I arranged it with Pontus. Just as well. Oh, all right, I know Pontus is on the bad side this time. I arranged it with the hippocampi, okay?"

"You can call them off. Base is in Arizona, in the middle of the desert."

"I can tell why you left." It's the first time I really hear Chelsea show any emotion but anger or plain indifference. It's the way she talks right now that makes her sound soft and vulnerable, like Phil sounded right before he died…. No, I can't think of that. Not now. We have to get to Arizona before time runs out. When does time run out? Oh, if we only had a Kronos kid here right now. Then I remember that Kronos doesn't have any kids. I stand up, brushing dirt and dust off my clothes and grabbing my spear that was lying next to me. I hear Leigh stand up and shake her fur in a corner, then traipsing over to me with heavy eyelids- she looks like she hasn't slept at all.

_I don't know if you can hear me, Leigh, but please don't come with us. Go back to camp, tell the satyrs what's going on, and tell Chiron there's no way to stop us. Please, do it for me. At least I'll be sure that one of my friends is in good hands. _I think Leigh understands me because when we leave the boiler room, she doesn't follow. She just gives out a low, mournful howl and blinks at me before curling up in a pile of rags that are lying in the corner again. Ava directs us out of the Golden League and into the busy streets of Philadelphia.

We walk until I feel like I'm going to collapse. Ava seems distracted, taking wrong turns and suddenly sprinting a few steps, ducking into random stores and clenching her fist around the snowflake on her necklace. Maybe she's paranoid. Finally, we get to an abandoned warehouse, where she leads us to the top deck (which, according to Ivan, Igor and Chelsea is freezing over- it's so cold), when she stops. She lets out a low, long whistle that seems to wake up any snow creature within a mile. I see snowy owls popping out of nowhere (though I doubt they really appreciate the cold- I think they just respect Ava because they're named after her mother), white foxes scuttling down streets, and before I know it, four shabby looking ponies are standing in front of us, formed out of a small blizzard.

"Flying Icelanders. The fastest way of transportation if you're immune to the cold. Don't worry Goldfish, Titan and Warhead. You're with me, so you won't freeze." I notice that she fails to mention me. I guess she's figured out that I have a kind of a cold immunity. We mount the horses, and immediately, warmth floods through me. I can feel the energy circling in the horses bodies- the most amazing feeling ever. When Ava gives the command, a small twitch starts in the horses' rear, travels through to the top of its head and back in a millisecond, and the horses kick off, flying at what seems to be a thousand miles an hour.

After about half an hour, the landscape beneath us changes: going from frozen solid to grassland, and finally to desert. When we see the ruins of a city drawing closer, I feel the horses getting really slow, and Ava announces that we have to get off- the horses are melting. Not wanting to fall from the height we're at, we decide to get off and continue on foot. The hot desert sand greets us, and Ivan, Igor, Chelsea and Ava break out into an instant sweat- soaking their clothes and giving them a tired appearance. I guess the wolf in me is used to sudden temperature changes- having been made to survive in extreme climates. I just feel pleasant warmth in the air. Smirking at the others, I start walking towards the city.

After a good twenty minutes, the ground starts to get hard and rocky, and the ruins disappear from view. That's weird. Maybe there's some magic going on here, concealing it. What I don't expect is to be stopped from falling of an overhanging cliff at the edge of the rocky surface. I take several steps back, and then, cautiously, creeping back towards the edge. What I see terrifies me: about thirty square miles, stretching long into the distance, in an unnatural crater, filled with monsters, tents, people and huge beings that I expect are giants and gods. And in the middle, upon a pile of rocks, is the flag, waving slightly in the desert wind, bearing the Primordial's coat of arms: a dark green background with two golden arrows that are crossed.

"Welcome to Home Base," Ava says, the chill and hate in her voice unmistakable.

**Okay, I know that this and the last chapters aren't the best, but I'm really stressed right now. I've got this big karate test on Friday and pretty much every weekend between now and next year is taken up. I'll still get around to posting chapters though.**

**I also apologize that I changed Ava's history a bit- I had to have it fit the story. Don't worry, the full thing will be explained in later chapters. **

**You also might be thinking 'hey, where's the action?' Well, it's coming, don't worry. Next chapter, there will be a turn in events. Till then-**

**Akheilos.**


	7. Fear

**VII. Fear**

**Hmm… not so many reviews, eh? ****Oh well… here's the next part- it gets interesting :)**

Over the next few days, we fall into a routine: get up early (literally at the crack of dawn), scavenge for food, check out Base for the day, scavenge some more, sleep. We found a nice cave at the top of the cliff where we first laid out eyes on Base. Igor is drawing maps and brainstorming ideas on how to destroy Base- it would mean destroying the threat and ending the war. Something that we, the third party in this battle, want. We all know Percy Jackson just wants to fight, though we don't know if he's been cured yet.

The days pull out into weeks, and we're not getting anywhere. Well, this is annoying. I start getting bored, wishing Leigh was here. I'm getting sick of Chelsea and Ava's constant bickering, Igor shouting at them to shut up and Ivan sharpening his sword and knife every night on the rock- a horrible, high pitched metallic sound, almost like fingernails on a chalkboard. Chiron has tried to reach us numerous times, but as soon as one of us notices some flickering or strange light in the cave, we run through it. And so it comes that we nearly missed what had happened at camp- the important stuff.

It's been a really lazy day- again. I look around the cave and notice the usual break in the light that signals an Iris Message, but do nothing about it. Too tired. I just watch it, my hands on my spear, just in case. The person I see is not whom I was expecting- it's Percy Jackson. I stand up, growling, and the others notice the message too. I can tell Chelsea is about to slash through it, but Ava holds her back. Instead, Ava steps in front of the message and fixates Jackson with a hard glare.

"You," is all she says coolly. I can see a shadow sweep over Jackson's face, but then recognition dawns on it.

"Ava," he says curtly. "What're you doing there?"

"I might as well ask you the same thing," she says, maintaining the stare. At this point, Chiron steps into view and Jackson looks down. He mutters something to Chiron, but Chiron doesn't leave. Instead, he gently pushes Jackson aside and steps more clearly into view. "You," Ava sneers. "What do you want? Isn't it enough that you didn't care enough about Ciro, but now you also have to corrupt that helpless goldfish?" Chiron just narrows her eyes.

"My actions against Ciro Metis were justified. And I have no clue what you're talking about when you say 'gold fish.' My best guess is that you're talking about the Hero of Olympus here, Percy, Ava" Chiron says quickly. It has far from saved him though, so he keeps talking rapidly. "I don't know why you're there, or how you got them to trust you, but let me tell you, if one of them gets hurt on your watch, you're dead."

Ava simple roles her eyes. "Empty threat, Chiron. You and I both know that."

"Enough," Igor almost shouts. "We have more important things to discuss. First off, Chiron, why're you here? We have not asked for help, nor do we want it. Secondly, why is Jackson looking so well again? One would've thought he was incurable."

"You say this as if you know more than we do."

"Well maybe I do."

Chiron sighs. "Fare enough. Look, something bad has happened. The night that you three left, Annabeth disappeared." I feel numb. Like I'm paralyzed. My eyes go wide open and then narrow down into slits again; I feel hot and then cold almost as if I have a fever. I look around me, to see the calm faces of everyone else. Chiron keeps talking, as if he doesn't notice my reaction. "Campers are getting worried. And I'm afraid they have started blaming Seth for her disappearance."

"What are you talking about, Chiron, I thought we agreed that it IS Seth's fault," Percy says angrily.

"Silence, Percy. We cannot be sure."

"Chiron, we've been through this."

"Perseus, I will have to ask you to leave this room if you cannot keep your distaste for the boy from clouding your judgement. He is only eleven years old and you are just jealous that Annabeth views him as a friend." Wow. I've never seen Chiron this angry. Ever. It's sort of scary. His voice seems to strain and get about ten times louder, when in reality; he's just slightly raising it. "You have had more than enough say in this war and you need to calm down just a little bit. Seth, please, whatever you know, find a way to tell me. Please. Your wolf is here and refuses to talk to the satyrs and dryads.

I turn my back. Then, in one sudden movement, I turn back around, bringing my fist with me and smashing the Iris Message. The picture dissolves, and I catch one last glimpse of Chiron's disappointed face and Percy's smug smile. To him, I just have confessed. I slam my fist into the stone wall, leaving behind a small crater. I punch harder, until I hear a small crack in my wrist, telling me it has broken. I am about to kick the wall as hard as possible, when I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders.

The hands are strong yet soft, like Demeter's, and they are comforting. They pull me into a hug, and I cry onto the person's shirt. I don't even know why I'm crying. I'm just so angry and confused. I have no clue who's side I'm on. I'm with Chiron, Annabeth, Demeter and Nico, but I'm against Jackson. I'm with the wolves and wildlife, but I'm against my father. I am with Ava, Ivan, Igor and Chelsea, but I'm against myself. So confused. I but my lip until I feel it bleed.

"It's okay. It's okay." The words just get repeated into my ear softly as the person holds me closer. "It's okay. It's okay." I just stand there for what seems to be forever, dizziness and nausea rolling over me, coming with fatigue and the sense that I'm floating. At some point, I guess I'm laid down, because I fall asleep, and dreams take over.

_I am running. Running down a long, metal corridor that seems to be going nowhere. Finally, I burst through the heavy metal door at the end to see that I am standing in front of a bridge. Without thinking, I keep running and hurl myself off the edge, plunging hundreds of meters to my death. When I hit the water, I expect to go splat and then drown, but it's like time has frozen, and I am frozen in the pain of my body colliding with the water's surface. I look down, below the water, and see terrible things._

_Annabeth is tied to a pole, her clothes ripped and her body dirty. A bunch of monsters prowl around her, keeping watch, while my father walks up and down in front of her, occasionally running one of his long claw like fingernails over Annabeth's cheek or down her waist and the inside of her thigh. I want to scream, to run, to attack, to save Annabeth and to kill my father. But what good would it be? He's immortal. And Annabeth's dying anyway. _

'_Don't think that way, Seth.' _

_Sierra? Sierra! Where are you?_

'_I am right here. With you. In you. Part of my mortal soul lives with you. It is what keeps you alive, what keeps you from killing yourself, what binds you to Demeter. Look, Seth, you have the chance to save Annabeth. Go get her. Even if you think that she deserves better than Percy Jackson, get her back and let her be with him-let her be happy.'_

_I nod slowly, the pain increasing. _

'_I don't have much time, Seth. Remember, I'm always with you. And remember the star!'_

I wake up, panting, in the dark. I hear soft snores all around me; I seem to be the only one awake. I think to what Sierra said. _Remember the star._ What on earth is she talking about? The star. The star. What friggin' star? But wait. Not the star. The Star. The tale of Zachariah Star, the only thing I can write- from memory. The story that her dad used to tell us when we felt our lives were sad and that we'd never achieve our goal- running a circus together (something we had given a lot of time and consideration; just a silly childhood dream).

It is the tale of a young man trying to find his way in the world, but he makes one mistake- he takes a wrong turn and ends up on the streets. Because he wanted to become an engineer instead of the lawyer his parents always wanted. He lives in a junk yard, thinking his life is over and wasted, until he looks to the stars one night and they guide him. He scavenges for metal, coming up with a plan for a battle field- making a carousel in the shape of a star. He builds it out of scrap metal, and when he's finished, he feels his life is almost over. The night he dies, he opens the carousel and children from everywhere come, and they are happy, being the children they always wanted to be. When Zachariah died, they all took little stars out of metal and placed them on his body, burying him in stars. And so, even without his parent's approval, he earned his place among the stars, giving children who would actually never have gotten a childhood a real once in a lifetime experience, a tale they'd pass down for generations.

A cute story, but now I see the meaning behind it. The battle plan. I get up and walk over to where Igor has been working on his plans so hard. The star… the star. What if… no, it couldn't be. I race outside, tripping over my own feet, but I finally reach the edge of the overhanging cliff. In the light of the now rising sun, I see what is only possible to see in the time of day when black and white are indistinguishable. The Base. It's in the shape of an eight- pointed star, with four long points and four short ones. So clever. So dangerous.

I run back inside, shake Ava awake, and drag her back out. She has to see this. Sleepily, she rubs her eyes. I slap her shoulder and her head snaps up to attention. I point out at the points, tracing each line in the disappearing shadows.

"A star," Ava mutters. "Seth, you're a genius."

The next few days are hectic- sometimes, we don't even return to the cave at night. We scout the perimeter of the star, calculating lengths and angles and possible attack plans (well, Igor does the thinking, we do the scouting). I have written up the story of Zachariah Star word for word for Igor, who is constantly poring over it underlining lines and muttering to himself in Russian. The constant moving keeps my mind tired but focused on tasks at hand. I almost forget that Chiron called one afternoon and said he'd be sending Jackson. Like he could live one day without water.

One morning, when we are all somehow in the cave, Jackson arrives. He looks like crap- dehydrated and dirty, his hair greasy and bleached from the sun. He just stares at us, before finally plunking his stuff down in a corner and unrolling his sleeping bag. None of us plan to wake him up anytime soon. An hour passes, and none of us leaves. It's like with Jackson arriving, a tension has fallen in the cave. Chelsea and Ava are actually getting along right now; Ivan is looking at Jackson like he's going to murder him, I am clenching my spear so tightly that my knuckles are white and Igor is muttering to himself in very fast English, writing quickly. Suddenly he lets out a small 'oh!' and beckons us to come over. We go, not wanting to watch Jackson sleep anymore.

Igor points to a map of Base. I only see squiggles, but Ava and Chelsea are soon discussing the dots, exes and lines with Igor, while Ivan and I just stand there. "And so, with this bomb, if it lands here," I hear Igor say, and I turn, looking to a small x on the map, "and we jump from here," he points at a dot next to the x, "and we enter at this angle," he points to four dotted lines on the other side of Base, "they're gone."

"Wait. Our cliff. It needs to come down. How will we do that? Oh, you know, because if our cliff falls, it'll crush the monster division," Chelsea says.

"Good thinking, Chels. Now, if we just rotate the whole thing…. Yes. There you go. Our plan." Wow. I guess Igor is cleverer than I gave him credit for. I suddenly feel a presence behind me, but when I jump around, it's just Jackson. I snarl at him, but then turn back to the group.

"Now, for the bomb. It is hand operated and if we need it to go off right about here," Igor says, pointing to a spot slightly in from the edge. "That means that Annabeth should be over here, out of harms way [he points to a point slightly out of the way]. So since I am the only one who knows how to operate the bomb, it's quite simple. Ivan, Seth, Percy, Ava and you take the gods [he points at the dotted lines] and I jump, setting the bomb off and…"

The deafening silence of what he is about to say crushes down upon us.

"… and then I die."

**I know it's not that long, but still…. **


	8. Threat

**VIII. Threat**

Everyone starts shouting at once, except for me. I just stare blankly at Igor trying to see the sense in his plan. Unfortunately, I do. It is the only way for us to win the war.

"There is no way in Hades you are going to do that!" This comes from Ivan.

"Okay, your more stupid than I thought you were," Ava says, but I can tell from her eyes that she's worried. She wants to scream to him that he shouldn't, that it's pointless.

"Okay, no, no and no, Igor, this is not right," Chelsea shouts, her ears getting red with anger.

"Dude, isn't there any other way, I mean, we could shoot an arrow or build a machine or something-" Jackson starts, but everyone is cut off by Igor's angry outburst.

"No! There is no other way. I have designed this bomb myself and ONLY A HUMAN can operate it. The second I do the switches, the bomb ignites. Have none of you read Harry Potter? 'Sometimes you must sacrifice a player to win the game.' I am the son of Prometheus, the titan of forethought. There is not other bloody way. Once I have jumped, I will set off the bomb. That should kill most of the monsters. You all will carry out the attack plan, get Annabeth, kill some gods, and LEAVE. Look, Seth, understands me, right Seth?"

Everyone turns to me, but I don't blush. I just nod grimly.

After a long silence, Jackson finally says something. "Well, you're all mad. I have no clue why I even came here. I'm not going to let you die for me [he points angrily at Igor] and I don't trust you [he points at me, I shrug]. You just want all them [he points at everyone else] dead so that you can steal the glory."

Just as I am about to punch him, Igor speaks up. "No one is dying for you here, Jackson. I'm dying to end this war. Your glory days are over, son of Poseidon. There are new heroes on the way, and you're just scared because they're greater than you'll ever be. When people think of the end of this war, they'll think of us and of the people who died in it, not the arrogant snob Percy Jackson, who messed everything up. This isn't your war, Jackson. It's ours."

Jackson is about to go over to Igor and punch him, I can see it, but Ava steps in his way. "You're not harming them today, Jackson. You'll have to get through me first. You know that I was always better than you," she leans in to him, whispering loudly in his ear. "Always. I was always better. You're just too much of a jerk to admit it." With this, Jackson turns on his heels, gets his stuff, and leaves. I shoot a sideways glance at Ava, to see that even though she's smug, I can tell by her eyes that she's dead scared. I go over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, while Ivan and Igor start conversing in Russian again and Chelsea goes back to sharpening her knife.

"It's true," Ava mutters. "I always was better than him. And I always will be." I nod. "You're right, Seth, maybe we should go look for him," she says, turning around to me. I just shrug. "On the other hand, leaving him out there to die seems like a pretty good solution to me." I nod.

As the day draws on, it is becoming clearer and clearer that we have to do something soon. There just is no way around it. We'll do it tomorrow. The sooner the better. The less time to have second thoughts. The less time to count your 'what if's'…. I find myself looking at the attack plan over and over again. The more I look at it, the more it makes sense. Horrible sense. I don't see a plan to end a war. I see a plan of suicide. Now, maybe I could jump… no. the idea leaves my head just as quickly as it came. Remember Sierra.

At some point, I curl up in a corner, trying to get some sleep. I lie there for several hours, my eyes wide open, my back to the cave. It slowly gets dark, and I can hear everyone else go to sleep. Except me. I lie awake, thinking of the cornfield. I try to imagine the warm sun on my neck, the feel of the straw against my hands, the endless hours spent there, chasing imaginary friends through the maze. A tear trickles down the side of my face and I wipe it away angrily. Who needs friends? They make you vulnerable and stupid. Look what having a girlfriend brought to Phil. But he did that because of me… no, shut up!

It takes me a long time to fall asleep, but eventually, I do. My dreams aren't dreams though. They're basically a recap of my life.

_I get home one day in third grade. I enter the house as usual. I take my shoes off, drop my bag on the floor as usual. I go into the kitchen and get a plate of food as usual. I go into the living room, as usual. My mom is sitting there. Unusual. She is crying. What the hell is going on? The worst-case scenarios flash through my head. She lifts her head and looks at me._

"_Seth, Laura is in hospital." The food and the plate drop to the ground, the china shattering on the wood. "Leukaemia."_

_The scene changes. My mom is fixing the tie on my suit. It's black, just like all the other clothes will be at the funeral. Goodbye, Laura. You were my best friend._

_The next scene, I am running through the woods, panting. My arm is badly injured, possibly broken; I am sweating and bleeding in numerous places. I lose my footing and stumble down a steep hill and then everything goes blank. When I wake up, I am hanging upside down from a branch, and a pair of big black friendly eyes are staring at me. Saqui._

_Chiron comes and Saqui is giving me the dream catcher. On Chiron's back is a girl of about my age with dark brown hair and green eyes._

"_Hey," she says, waving slightly. "I'm Sierra."_

_Chiron is sending us back home. "It's for the best, both of you," is all he says. We grumble and whine, but it has no effect. I go back home to my mother and to the memory of Laura. Only this time, Sierra is there with me. This makes it seem just a bit more pleasant._

_We are now about to go to camp for the third time. Sierra says that she wants to take a shortcut, and leads me into a building. We head down a long corridor with a heavy metal door at the end…._

"Seth, wake up!" I shoot up, hitting my head on the rocks behind me. I hear some quiet giggles, but they quickly subside. "Come on, I need to show you something. But… well, come see for yourself."

I get up and follow Ava out of the cave and onto the ledge overlooking the camp. Probably one of my worst fears greets me. From up here, clearly, I can see my nightmare from a few nights ago. Annabeth, more beaten and dirty than she had seemed in my dream, is tied to a pole not too far from where we are looking. My father prowls around her, sneering, talking to her, laughing, running his dirt-encrusted fingers over her cheeks. I feel a sudden surge of anger towards him. How dare he treat her like this? How dare he? I clench my fists and snarl at the scene, my eyes glued to it. One wrong move, I think, one wrong move and you're dead.

Ava puts her hand on my shoulder. I turn and look her in the eye, ready to growl, when I see her expression: full of disgust and hatred. My anger subsides and is replaced by guilt. I'm not the only one who cares about Annabeth. "Seth, I know you may not like it, but Jackson cares about her too. Everyone at camp cares about her. We want to help, Seth. But actually, that's not why we're here. I, uh, well; I wanted to talk about Igor and his plan. Uh, Chelsea said you were a good listener." She looks at me with a mixed expression of apprehension and curiosity. I nod and sit down.

She lets out her breath and begins. "Look, I know he's a son of Prometheus and all, but seriously, what he's doing is dangerous. Quite frankly, we can't afford to lose him. I mean, wouldn't it be easier just to use Jackson? We're all thinking it- this isn't his war anymore. We're the heroes, not him. I mean, I know I'm not a hero, but you and Ivan and Igor and Chelsea are." At this point I shake my head. I put my hand on her shoulder, wanting so badly just to talk. Doesn't anyone get it? All I want to do is talk; I want to have someone who will listen and care. But, when neither side cares if you die or not, who will care about you? You can't just sit there, wallowing in self pity. I point at her and nod. You are a hero, Ava. You just are too blind to see it.

"Oh shut up, Seth. I mean, not that you're talking or anything… you know, sometimes I wish you would talk. I'd want to hear your story. I can tell you mine [I nod]. Fine. I got here before Chelsea arrived. When she got here, we were friends again, and we had one common friend. Ciro. He was an incredibly smart child from Athena. But he was a bit too smart. Your father started talking to him. He wanted Chelsea and me to run away with him because he thought we'd have a better life. I, being an idiot, believed him. I convinced him not to tell Chelsea. I guess I was jealous. But, when we got to camp, he got too involved and drifted away. It came to a point when he didn't remember my name. I left. I lived on the streets of Philly for about three years, and then I met you guys."

She says it so matter-of-factly. Like she accepts her past. I really admire her for that. I wish I could do that- just look back with acceptance and talk freely to people about it. My mouth seems to grow shut tighter every moment I think about how much I want to talk. How much my voice aches to be heard, the very same voice that, years ago, sang along to Native American songs, the voice that narrated my thoughts, the voice that I just wish had been there when I wanted to talk to Phil.

I hear some rustling behind me; Ava and I turn at the same time to see Ivan, Igor and Chelsea standing there. "Ready to go?" one of them asks. We nod grimly, getting up, starting the day-long hike to the place where Igor will jump from. Chelsea doesn't speak at all during our trip. Ivan mutters to himself in Russian the whole time. Igor throws up several times and gets this mad look in his eyes. He tells us how much we mean to him. He tells us that he wants Chelsea to have his sea glass bracelet (he had collected the glass himself), how he wants Ivan to have his weapons. How he wants Ava to be accepted as a hero at camp.

Ava and I walk next to each other in silence, Ava not daring to speak; she is on the verge of tears. When we can finally see the spot form where Igor is going to jump, she actually runs up to him and hugs him, telling him she couldn't have wished for a better friend. When she lets go of him, there is no trace of the usual Ava left. Her stony face is back, and she draws the sword from her snowflake charm. All of us draw our weapons as we get to the point. We salute Igor. Ivan is crying, his sword shaking as he holds it up. Chelsea is looking straight ahead with a blank expression. I look to the floor, but as Igor passes me, I look him straight in the eye and we come to a mutual understanding. Take care of the others.

He turns and we take our positions to start running as soon as he jumps. Unfortunately, we never even get to set a foot forwards in that plan. Because Percy Jackson is running towards us, his sword drawn, shouting at the top of his voice, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that!"

And with this, he attacks.

**Woot!**


	9. Resistance

**IX. Resistance**

**I never thought the day would come when my computer and my parents and my teachers stopped hating me. ****Because of an unforeseen illness of mine, I had two whole days at home, homework less and free to write as much as I like. Thus, this story has come to an end before January. The final chapter will be posted next weekend. Enjoy :)**

The bad thing about fighting Jackson is that he's invulnerable. This means that no matter how hard we try, we can't hurt him. Damn. He plays around us, making sure that Igor is in no position whatsoever to jump. He seems to glide through the sand, dust swirling everywhere but his eyes, making it nearly impossible to see. Damn him.

I can already see that this is going nowhere, unless we want to kill Jackson, and I don't think that Chiron would really approve. Damn him and his rules. And anyway, how do you kill someone who can't be injured? Find their weak point. How do you do that? Uh… well… maybe… okay, I really have no clue. Maybe Annabeth knows. Then I remember, with a sharp jab of pain, that my father is keeping her captive. Why? What is she to him?

I am thrown back by a snarling Jackson, and land on my butt several meters away. Now, usually, landing on your put doesn't really hurt, but Jackson managed to throw me onto a stone. That hurts. Pain shoots up my spine and into my head, and I feel all dizzy, like my skull is going to crack. I try to get up, but my legs feel like jelly and my arms don't seem to be strong enough to hold my spear. I grip it weakly, lying back down and tilting my head upwards so I can see the fight. It looks weird from here. Just a jumble of legs and dust, the occasional cry of "ouch" and a muttered swear word.

I prop myself up on my hands, or, at least, I try to, but the rock under me cracks, and I quickly withdraw my hand, shivers running up my spine even though it isn't cold in the least. It's like the dust that is coating my fingers is way to smooth; I just want to hold them in water. I try to inhale, but end up sneezing, a burning sensation in my nose and throat. Yes, we definitely need water for this. I start sucking on the edge of my shit, however gross that might seem, and then press it over my mouth and nose. It stinks, but at least it's wet. I blink several times before everything comes to focus.

I turn my attention back to the little crack I just made. I tap on it, and a deep, hollow sound greets my ears. Yes. This is it. The escape plan. I drag myself along the ground, always making sure that it is still hollow, cracking it wherever I can. I look up. Igor and Jackson are on the same side of the crack. If I could only just…. Yes, it will have to do. Igor looks down briefly and catches my eye. I nod my head to the right, hoping he'll get the message. He narrows his eyes, but stays put, not glancing at me again.

With what seems to be the weight of the world on my shoulders, I get up, and fall back down immediately. The world is spinning around me, fast, and I have this sensation that I am flying. I roll over to the left, quickly, and just in time because where I fell moments ago, the stone has given way to reveal a deep trench. Perfect. I look up, trying to catch Igor's eye one last time. It takes him several seconds, but eventually, he gets it. He makes sure that Jackson is distracted with Ivan, Chelsea and Ava, quickly sheathes his sword and gets out the bomb, fiddling around with it. He nods briefly.

If this plan fails, we're all dead, but it's worth a try. I get up, not caring that the world starts spinning again, and race towards Jackson, running right into him so that he lands on the other side of the crack. I sling my arms around Chelsea, taking her gun, and pull the trigger. A series of holes appear in front of her, and a terrible rumbling sound fills the air. Apparently, Ava is the only one who has caught on because she grabs Chelsea, whom I have released, and Ivan, and pulls them towards her, shouting instructions over the roar that is now coming from the cliff. I still stand there, glaring at Jackson who is still on his back, a bewildered and dangerous look on his face as he slowly comprehends my plan. My head shoots up to come into contact with Igor's eyes one last time. I nod. He nods. He runs. He jumps. A deafening blast fills the air.

I press my shirt tightly against my face as I stumble backwards, the cliff now rolling down towards Base, leaving Jackson on the top. I jam my spear into the ground and push off with all the strength I can muster. Any support that our cliff still had is now gone, and we are racing towards the bewildered crowd awaiting us at the bottom, weapons drawn. A cloud of dust billows around us, making our eyes water, but when we reach the bottom of the cliff, all the dust is suddenly gone and we are in the middle of a full-blown battle.

It's as if we all remember the plan that Igor laid out for us. Ivan fights his way towards the left, where the sea gods are harboured. I don't know how he plans to defeat them, but his face is so set with concentration that I'm sure he has a plan. Chelsea ducks behind a dracaenae and starts moving towards the front left, a strange red glow around her, going to fight Aether, who is probably one of the strongest gods here. She can do it though. I know it. She is the daughter of Ares.

I am left with Ava, fighting off the demigods and monsters that survived the explosion. In the distance, I can see, much to my dismay, that my dad has survived, and to my delight, that Annabeth is still alive. The pack of wolves seems genuinely smaller, and I remember that most of them were in the vicinity of the explosion. Still slightly shaky, I see a demigod and a monster running at me from opposite directions. I sidestep, holding my spear out, and both of them run into either end, the monster disintegrating and the demigod bleeding from her stomach. I pull my spear out, disgusted and triumphant at the same time the demigod falls, breathing no more.

Ava gradually makes her way to the right, to where Ciro Metis and Nyx are located. I feel a pang of guilt that I can't be there to help her, but I have a different goal. My father. I fight harder and harder, barely noticing that wolves are now mixing in with the crowd I'm fighting. I can feel the adrenaline rush I had felt earlier draining from me, and I know that when all this is over, my body is going to give me hell. But I don't care.

It takes three more kills for my bloodlust to click. The three demigods lie lifeless, and I can feel a sudden need for flesh creeping over me. I want to tear, to rip, to kill as many humans as I can, just for the sweet sensation of their blood on my tongue. I nearly jab myself with my spear for thinking this. I bit the arm of a monster attacking me and it disintegrates, leaving me covered in a shower of grey dust. Gross. What I don't really expect is for me to be face to face with the weird moon wolf I created.

Snarling, we circle each other, monsters leaping out of our way. The wolf gives her bark-like laugh as she stares at me with her cold red eyes. I just snarl right back at her, trying to put as much anger and hate into my stare as possible. I attack first, jabbing at her paw. She leaps away, growling, and, in the perfect position with her paw raised, she leaps forwards, her mouth wide open to swallow me.

It's like Ares hates me. My spear doesn't go up when I want it too, letting the wolf's fangs draw closer and closer. It's like in the movies, it really is. Everything in slow motion. The non-moon-spirit wolf coming from behind. The moon spirit wolf from the front. Me jumping aside, taking the live wolf and throwing it into the moon wolf's mouth. The moon wolf bights down. Blood squirts everywhere.

My legs give way as I fail to land on my feet, and I slide several meters before coming to a complete halt. I look wildly around me, seeing the moon wolf discard the lifeless wolf from her jaws and running towards me. I pick up my spear that I had dropped when I grabbed the wolf, and see that one of the ends is tainted in wolf blood. Great. But the moon wolf is already onto me. Without thinking, I raise my spear and _wham_!

The wolf disintegrates. The end of the spear I had thrust into her is now not only covered in immortal wolf blood, but also in a silvery liquid. Moon energy. I see it sliding down the tip, encasing the whole spear, making it glow in silver energy. Then it begins to travel up my arms. But this time, I am prepared. I channel the energy through my body, letting it give me strength and power that is abnormal for an eleven year old boy. I jump up, the world in a much clearer view, gripping my spear. My eyes focus on my father. The enemy.

I rush at him, roaring, my spear pointed at his throat. His eyes widen with the surprise and shock of a man seeing his own son trying to kill him. He manages to block my spear, but I manage to grab his arms and twist. The moment I touch him though, I know it is a bad idea. All the energy fades from my body, and I let go, screaming as the pain takes over my head, causing me to fall back and lose my grip on everything that is real. I can feel my life fading, being drawn up by my father, who is standing there, cackling.

I guess I owe Annabeth my life this time. She screams a high pitched war cry that breaks the apparent silence I haven't noticed. My father loses momentary concentration and I feel some life returning to my body. It's barely enough. I look over to my friends, who are all fighting hopeless battles. I grab my spear, and run the point that is covered in wolf blood and a trace of moon energy through my father's throat.

At first, nothing happens. My father just gapes at me as I pull my spear out. Then, as if he were dying, he falls to the ground. I blink several times, but Annabeth's screams and shouts bring me back to reality. I see the remainders of my father's pack losing in on me, snarling and growling, their teeth bared. I look around hastily, and my eyes fall to the hilt of a knife that is sticking out from my father's clothes. I grab it, run over to Annabeth, and hastily hack at the ropes that are holding her.

By the time I'm free, I can already feel the wolves breathing down my neck. Unless a miracle happens, Annabeth and I are dead. I guess that all the bad events in my life are equal to one miracle. I hear a sound coming from my father, and the wolves stop. I don't understand what he's saying at first, but then I understand. He is talking in Wolfspeake, the language of the wolves. I remember Leigh mentioning it at some point.

"_Retreat, my faithful ones, and watch. This war will end in their deaths. Now. _

_Give me power, Gaea._

_Give me life, Gaea._

_Give the strength of the earth_

_The gods have overpowered_

_To end the battle one must foresee_

_The days of a god come to and end_

_To fire or ice the child will bend."_

It's not like there is a warning. I just focus on the last two lines of the chant. I run at Annabeth, grabbing her hand, letting out a high pitched howl as I do so. Ava, Ivan and Chelsea stop fighting long enough to look. Their eyes focus on my father, and they all start running. I turn around, seeing my father kneeling on the ground, his eyes spinning madly out of control, maniac laughter coming from is throat.

Next to me, I see Annabeth fall. Damn it, this is not the time for us all to get killed. I bend down and pick her up, shoving her towards the others who are running. Ava, who is just passing, takes Annabeth's hand and pulls her along. I stand still for a moment. One moment too long. A deafening explosion fills my ears, and I am propelled forwards, feeling like I am burning up, flying hundreds of meters into the sky, death creeping upon me.

**Review, yes?**


	10. Listen to the Rain Sacrifice

**X. ****Listen to the Rain/ Sacrifice**

**What can I say? Lindor is yummy :)**

I hear screams all around me. Loud shouts of agony, ripping through the numbness. Hands. Lots of hands on me, pressing on my heart. Lips. Lips on my mouth, breathing air into me. Good, fresh air. So relaxing. So energizing. The hands are back. One two three. They push on my heart. I cough. Clouds of dust and ash rise from my mouth as I open my eyes and shut them again almost immediately. It hurts too much.

My eyes flutter open again, and I see blurry outlines of people. A warning might have been nice, but I welcome the embrace that follows, Ava's brown hair falling into my face. It smells like blood and dirt, and like smoke, as if it has just been burnt. Her charm necklace falls onto my neck, resting there, so cold, so refreshing; a salvation from this hell. I feel her tears fall onto my face; I am relieved. Tears. They're so human. So natural.

"Annabeth! _Annabeth_!" I hear a familiar voice in the distance. I turn away from Ava's hug, towards the left. Jackson is kneeling over Annabeth's unconscious body, screaming at her to wake up. I hear an audible sigh from Ava. She gets up and walks over to Jackson, pushing him gruffly aside and performing CPR on Annabeth. I close my eyes again. If Annabeth is dead, I don't want to see her. Never ever again. And the pain is back. Right in my chest, in my heart. I slashes and stabs, taking huge bights. I vaguely feel my body twist and turn on the sand where I lie; I feel it roll over, my hands flinging around me, trying to stop the pain.

I hear more shouts, and realize that they are coming from my own mouth. Suddenly, I feel Ava's hands on my chest again, pressing down, soothing the pain. I hear her gasp as her hands leave, and I open my eyes long enough to see her hands covered in red. Blood. "Jackson, get your useless backside over here. And bring some Ambrosia and Nectar while you're at it," she commands. It's definitely not a question. A command. The way she says it, I'm sure Jackson will make haste. Apparently Annabeth has woken up because I can hear her talking quietly to Ivan.

I feel something cold and warm at the same time applied to my chest, which I now notice is bear- the shirt has been singed off. It burns, it burns so bad. I scream, but it turns into a painful howl as some Nectar is forced down my throat. And then, everything is gone. Ava and Jackson and the world start to spin around, faster and faster, until it is all nothing but a blur of colors. I try to scream and shout, but I can't.

Black. Everything goes dark as I spin further and further, out of every known realm, out of every sense that I have ever had. Suddenly, it stops. My feet land on a hard floor, and my knees give away, letting me fall onto the cold marble. Only, the impact doesn't hurt. I stand up and brush my self off- or at least, I want to. I am still wearing my jeans and no shirt, but I also have on a dark grey cloak made out of some kind of fur. I wrap it around myself. So nice and warm. Then I look down at my chest and let out a small gasp.

There is a hole. Right through my heard, there is a gaping hole that goes straight through and out my back. I tentatively brush a finger alongside it; the blood is dry. Breathing steadily, I make my way down the hall and to the open doors ahead of me. My chest starts to protest, but I keep going, completely aware of the fact that I'm most likely dead, judging by my wound.

I enter a small room that is colored in nice, homey colors and reminds me vaguely of a home I Italy that Demeter and I once stayed in. My days with her seem so long ago. It takes every inch of self control I have not to start crying. I swallow, blink a few times, and direct my gaze at the person in front of me. He has dark grey hair, yellow eyes and more scars than I can count. My father.

"Son. I am happy to see you."

Yeah, right. I snarl at him.

"I can see you don't believe me. But isn't your spear proof enough that I care about you?"

I'm momentarily confused. Then I reach onto my back and for the first time, I notice the spear there. I pull it off, examining it closely- one end is still covered in wolf blood and moon energy. I hear my dad sigh, and I turn my eyes back up to him.

"That spear has a terrible history. It was my first spear, you know?"- No, I didn't- "Yes. It served me well, naturally. But a prophesy was made. My own spear would kill me. A curse was placed upon it by none other than the Oracle of Delphi herself. I decided to hide it. But it always found me, and I killed more and more with it. Eventually, I just learned to deal with it. But, the night you came to the world, another prophesy was made. _'Child of grey/ a plan with a flaw/ returns to day/ foe of the law/ beware the king/ of wolves will end/ at the dawning of spring/ on the cursed the child must depend.'_ Oh yes, I remember it well.

'The child of grey was obviously you. The plan with the flaw was mine. You returned to daylight when you made friends with Phil. The foe of the law was me when I ordered the killing of Phil. It foretold my end in the next two lines. The dawning of spring has yet to come and the 'cursed,' well, that must be the spear. How you will depend on it, I do not know."

We remain in silence, until my father speaks again. "Son, Seth. You probably want to know what happened back there with the explosion and your heart. Ugh. Only when I saw you had beaten me I had noticed that it had been my plan that the prophesy was talking about. I had thought that with my alliance with the Protogenoi, I would be stronger. But _you_ were the flaw. I cared too much [at this, I snarl, but he just waves his hand dismissively]. Think what you want, Seth.

'Anyway, back to what happened. Seth, what I did is either the rise of the Protogenoi or their downfall and the end of the war. I exploded my soul into a million little pieces, making sure one part, the most important part, landed in you. It when right through your heart. Seth, to end this war, you need to kill that bit of soul. Your spear there has just enough to finish it. Yes Seth, that means a sacrifice. You."

Now I realize. I. Me. I am supposed to die at the end. This is why I was born. Well, maybe not exactly, but this is my purpose. To die to save the world. Oh yeah, it sounds all heroic when I say it like that, but really, I'm dead afraid. What if I don't go to Elysium? What if I go to the Punishing Grounds? What if….

"You need to go now Seth. Please, remember, if you destroy me, the only link the Protogenoi have to the gods on Olympus, they will cease. Please. As a terrible father and king of wolves, I ask you to make the simple sacrifice to end this torture. Yes, if you kill that bit of soul, I will be released from my prison here and I can go and take my punishment in Tartarus. _Go now_."

He speaks the last few words in Ancient Greek, and the world starts to spin once more. My feet lift off the ground, spinning out of control, faster and faster, until _wham_ I hit the hard surface of the sand. Immediately, the pain returns and I scream louder than ever before. I hear hushed voices above me.

"Where'd he get the cloak?"

"Why does he have his spear?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Can you shut up? He's trying to speak, look!"

I'm glad that Chelsea has caught on. I open my mouth, shaking, drawing deep, rattling breaths, not sure if I have much more time. "Rain… need water… rain… hear the rain… sacrifice," is all I manage to say. My voice is nothing more than a hoarse whisper, breaking the silence of the desert. I want rain. Rain is natural. I like rain. I need rain. If I want to die peacefully, which I know I won't anyway. "Rain…." And with this, I grab the spear and plunge it into the small hole through my heart.

It's like I'm on fire. Every inch of me is burning up, I want to scream, but it hurts too much. I writhe in the sand, convulsing as I feel the pain shoot through me, over and over, again and again. It's worse than anything I could have imagined. Then, all of a sudden, it's gone, and I am left with a strange empty feeling. The feeling of death.

I open my eyes one last time, fluttering, see the storm clouds. Ava begins to say something, but I cut her off. "Shh. Rain. Listen to the rain." And indeed, far above, rain drops are falling down to earth, in the middle of the desert. They reach my body, drenching it, leaving it sopping wet, carrying the blood out of me. Too much pain. "Kill me. Now." My last words. A gun shot. Darkness. The rain. Falling, falling, falling.

**-Epilogue-**

I must say, I was a tricky case. Hermes came to fetch my soul to take me to the underworld, but halfway there, I managed to struggle and get free. Now I roam the countryside as a ghost, the cloak around me, keeping me warm, the spear on my back, protecting me from shadows.

Over the years I watch my friends grow up. They cannot see me, but it is enough for me to see them. They are happy. I am there for Jackson and Annabeth's wedding. I am there to see Nico gaze longingly at a girl named Thalia, but he gets over her. He goes with a girl named Katie, Katie Gardner, I think, one of Sierra's half sisters. I watch Ava and Ivan's marriage. And I watch my funeral.

I stand there, watching them burn a shroud out of dark grey fur. Leigh stands next to it mournfully, but when she looks right at me, I am sure she can see me. She bounds right up to me and I pet her, almost as if I'm human again. A lot more people than I think come to the funeral. Even Jackson comes, grudgingly nodding his head and saying thanks. I smile, a smug smile. Serves him right.

Maybe death isn't so bad after all. I mean, it isn't like the world would be better with me, is it?

And whenever I want to, I can hear the rain. My salvation. The rain. I smile. Maybe I'll go jump off a cliff later, just for the heck of it. I turn. And I run, letting out a low howl of pleasure as I race through the trees of camp- my home. Past the den, past the cliff the moon spirit ran through. I hear the rain falling down- I am outside the boundaries. I run. I jump. And exhilarating flight.

**Love it? Hate it? Mildly like it? Review, my friends, otherwise I will set Leigh on you! Haha, not really, but it would be nice to have some reviews. I know this wasn't exactly the best story, and I know the ending was just crap. But still.**

**You should check out my story 'YOU.' I am still debating if I should write my story called 'Players of the Game'. The summary is as follows:**

**They were the rejects. A new country. A new school. New parents. And world war III. **

**Till next time, **

**Akheilos, Official Demon Scribe of Olympus, Order of Laurel 2****nd**** class, Official Liar. Have fun!**


	11. NOTE PLEASE READ

**Yo! Sorry, this is not an update. ****I really need your guys' help. On my profile, there is a poll concerning the next story I'm going to write. It'd be awesome if you could vote since right now I have a balance.**

**Voters get an imaginary llama. **

**Also, I'd like to ask you a question:**

**How does one get from talking about chickens, refrigerators and hippopotami to someone asking you about daisies- in the middle of your thought? I'm really curious. **

**Sorry again that this is not an update. We really do love you!**

**Warmest regards-**

**Me, Myself, I, Akheilos, Delphin, Zinc, Gel and Asterix xD**


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